Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus. RSV symptoms are similar to the common cold – congestion, runny nose, fever, and sore throat. RSV infection is usually mild, but it can be severe for infants, older adults, and individuals with immunocompromising conditions, including cancer. In infants, it can lead to pneumonia or … Read more
Elizabeth Johnston, then 37, was healthy and busy with two young children and a blossoming career running a public relations firm in Connecticut. One of her clients is the Hartford Marathon Foundation and in 2015, she decided to start running smaller stretches herself. “I was in the best shape of my life,” Johnston recalls. Little … Read more
While hematological cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma involve white blood cells, other, rarer hematologic malignancies affect red blood cells and platelets. These include polycythemia vera, in which the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, and essential thrombocythemia, in which platelets levels are abnormally high. Both are chronic diseases that can usually … Read more
If you have received a positive result from a GRAIL Galleri test, which is a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test, you need further testing to determine if you have cancer. If you have a positive GRAIL test, that means the test has found a signal that is associated with cancer and requires investigation. Other … Read more
Ruth Nelson struggled with her new breast cancer diagnosis mentally and physically. On treatment, her cardiac health faltered, her blood pressure spiked, and she experienced an unexplained episode in which she briefly lost her speech. And on top of that, she felt as if she were “a problem to be managed” by her friends and … Read more
What is NUT carcinoma? NUT carcinoma, formerly known as NUT-midline carcinoma, is a rare but very aggressive cancer that can develop anywhere in the body but usually starts in the head, neck, and lungs. It’s a squamous cell cancer — meaning it begins in squamous cells, which line hollow organs such as the windpipe and lungs — and is … Read more
Treatments used for many forms of cancer, as well as certain rare types of cancer that directly affect the ear(s), can affect your hearing. It’s important to understand the possibilities and know what to look for because, in some cases, early action can help. If you are affected by hearing loss, there are also resources … Read more
A new fad has emerged: the full-body MRI scan. The interest in this high-tech health diagnostic comes from the notion that the scan can catch health issues, including cancer, early. With a price tag of $2,000 to $2,500, they aren’t an option for many people, and they are not covered by health insurance. But are … Read more
Certain forms of cancer and cancer treatment can affect your vision and, in rare cases, cause vision loss. At Dana-Farber, our care teams will work with you to help you understand the possibilities, know what to look for, and take action to manage any vision changes that might occur. What types of cancer can cause … Read more
The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has wowed users with its seemingly human-like ability to generate and respond to language, and worried others by that very same ability. Like virtually every technological innovation that has come before — from the telephone to refrigeration to plastics — ChatGPT is sure to find uses in medicine. People are … Read more
Alongside gasoline engine exhaust and radiofrequency waves from cell phones, aspartame, the sweetener found in diet sodas and many sugar-free foods, is now categorized as “possibly carcinogenic.” The decision, made by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has gotten a lot of attention. We spoke with Timothy R. Rebbeck, … Read more
On June 7, 2023, New York City had the world’s worst air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted southward. Images of the city showed orange skies and a barely visible skyline. Air pollution is a leading cause of death worldwide and is also connected to cancer. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), long … Read more
The cell cycle is the series of steps by which living cells grow, duplicate their DNA, and divide into two identical daughter cells, each receiving one copy of the doubled material. The cycle is complete when each daughter cell is sealed in its own membrane, ready to start the cycle again. The cycle occurs in … Read more
In general, standard of care is treatment accepted by medical experts for a certain type of disease and that is widely used by healthcare professionals. It is also called best practice, standard medical care, and standard therapy. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology lay out the recognized standards for cancer … Read more
More than seven percent of adults in the US identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2022 Gallup poll. That’s a record high and a doubling of the percentage measured a decade earlier. People in the LGBTQ+ community can face many societal barriers, including to healthcare. According to multiple surveys, about one in three LGBTQ+ people … Read more
Over the past three decades, the number of cancer survivors has increased. That trend is expected to continue. The numbers indicate progress in the treatment of cancer, but they also underscore the importance of quality of life after cancer. “We want people to lead healthy, productive, enjoyable lives, and mobility is such an important piece … Read more
Words like “chemobrain” and “chemofog” — terms now used by patients, doctors, and scientists to describe cognitive decline that some patients experience in response to cancer therapy — didn’t exist a few decades ago. Today, however, there’s a general awareness that cancer treatments can take a toll on the brain. Oncologists don’t yet have a … Read more
Set to begin radiation therapy the next day, the patient was anxious. Not just about her thoracic cancer treatment, but also about the oral chemotherapy she took at home. It came with high insurance copays. Then came a phone call that eased her concerns. As they had earlier in her treatment, members of Dana-Farber’s Specialty … Read more
Doctors use traditional radiation therapy to guide a beam of radiation toward a tumor, making every effort to minimize the effects of that radiation on surrounding healthy tissue. But some tumors are hard to treat this way because the tumors don’t stay put. They move as a patient breathes or even as they digest. MRI-guided … Read more
By Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, Dana-Farber President and Chief Executive Officer Earlier this month, I along with three Dana-Farber colleagues – Judy Garber, MD, MPH; Donna Neuberg, ScD; and Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD – had the honor of being named by Research.com as being among the best female researchers in the world. It’s a proud … Read more