Adult

What You Need to Know About Rising Appendix Cancer Rates  

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If you look down at your stomach, glide your eyes diagonally from your belly button to the lower right side of your abdomen: that’s your appendix. It is a finger-shaped organ that stems from your colon.   With two primary functions — supporting the immune system and potentially serving as a safe house for good bacteria, as theorized from some– the appendix is a small, but mighty organ that is important to take note of, especially given the recent … Read more

Donating Her Blood Stem Cells to Patient is a No-Brainer for Dana-Farber Staffer 

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The call from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) seemed to come from out of nowhere, but it bore some hopeful news: Dana-Farber senior project manager Alexandria Monteiro’s stem cells were a match for a stranger with leukemia who needed a stem cell transplant.  “I don’t remember signing up,” Monteiro admits, “but based on who I know myself to be,” she continues, “it does sound like something I would have done.”  … Read more

What You Need to Know About Fiber and Cancer Risk

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Feeling constipated? You may have not be getting enough fiber in your diet.   Fiber-rich diets are a key component to preventing and reducing constipation and can help you maintain a healthy gut. Dietary fiber offers many health benefits from reducing chronic diseases like diabetes to lowering your risk of some types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer.  Fiber is an undigested nutrient that passes through the body when you consume fruits, … Read more

Testicular Cancer Survivor is On the Run and Spreading the Word 

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Devon Choi had a great job, a terrific group of friends, and had just run the Boston Marathon – the first of six 26.2-mile races he hoped to complete in major cities around the world.   So, when the East Boston resident felt a lump on his left testicle while showering in May 2023, he shrugged it off. Choi was … Read more

Early Detection at Dana-Farber Helps Patient Avoid Unnecessary Treatment 

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In February 2024, while being treated for pneumonia, doctors noticed that Rebecca Santorelli’s spleen was enlarged.  “No one was concerned at first,” recalls Santorelli, 61, who lives outside of Albany, New York.   Doctors estimate spleen size with fingerbreadths — or approximate widths of a finger — below the rib cage, with normal being about zero. … Read more

Pediatric Neuroblastoma and Osteosarcoma Survivor Charts Course to Medical School 

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The walk is a little different each day, sometimes a twisting, turning path through the various side streets of Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and on other occasions more of a straight line down bustling thoroughfares.   One thing, though, remains consistent: no matter which route Paris Prinsen, 21, takes from her apartment to classes at the … Read more

A Teacher’s Troll Helps Her Through Triple-Negative Breast Cancer 

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By Jennifer Peters  On April 23, 2024, my life jumped onto a conveyor belt I never saw coming — one that would race me through numerous exam rooms, tests, and heartfelt conversations. The diagnosis? Triple-negative breast cancer. I’d never even heard of it. I thought breast cancer was all the same. Boy, was I wrong.  But even in that first shocking moment, I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to do … Read more

Three Recent Dana-Farber Research Studies to Know About  

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Every year, physician researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveal new treatments, protocols, and outcomes that advance cancer research. At one of this year’s biggest cancer research conferences, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin, Germany, Dana-Farber researchers presented 22 studies in breast, lung, and bladder cancer.  Here are three of the most exciting advancements — several nearing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval — shared by our experts nearly 4,000 miles across the world.  An oral therapy for advanced breast cancer   Erica Mayer, MD, MPH, director … Read more

Forcing Cancer to Grow Up: Dana-Farber Scientists Reprogram Tumors to Behave Normally  

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Cancer can make its way through the body by shapeshifting through even the narrowest places, like a skilled driver navigating traffic. It has a sly way of adapting to its environment by finding detours around every blockade clinicians place in its path.   A study from the lab of Nilay Sethi, MD, PhD, in Dana-Farber’s Center … Read more

Three Ways Research Could Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

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Pancreatic cancer has long been difficult to detect and treat. Dana-Farber experts in the  Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, however, are working to change that with research efforts in three key areas that are poised to advance early detection, early intervention, and treatment of the disease.   They presented these topics for discussion with … Read more

Helping Older Adults with Cancer

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Tammy Hshieh, MD, MPH, is the lead geriatrician for geriatric oncology at Dana-Farber, working with the programs for Older Adults with Hematologic Malignancy, Older Adults with Breast Cancer, and Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Cancers. As a physician-scientist, her research focuses on promoting healthier aging and improving cognition and function as well as understanding and preventing … Read more

Teacher Returns to Education After a Whipple Procedure 

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Marsha Olsen’s grandmother always used to say, “You have one body, take good care of it.”  And for most of her life, Olsen has spread that message as a middle school physical education and health teacher instilling healthy habits in her students.   “I wanted all my students to have a positive experience in physical education, … Read more

Dana-Farber Research Uncovers Potential Targeted Therapy for Endometrial Cancer 

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Jessica St. Laurent, MD, was sure something had gone wrong. The results of an experiment she’d run showed that the cancer cells she was studying had abnormally high levels of a specific collection of proteins of interest to her team.  “I remember seeing the gradient and thinking, This can’t be right,” says St. Laurent, who … Read more

Targeted Therapy Offers Hope for Metastatic Cervical Cancer

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When Donna McDaniel came to Dana-Farber with what she thought was lung cancer in 2024, she could barely walk and struggled to breathe. She’d been treated elsewhere, but the drugs had seemingly stopped working. Her quality of life was suffering, and she couldn’t keep up with her busy catering job at Blue Cross Blue Shield.  … Read more

Love Comes Full Circle for Patient With Ovarian Cancer

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Shelly Sepulveda grew up in Borger, Texas, a Panhandle town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people. A strong sense of connectedness bound the community together, creating long-lasting friendships and a tight-knit feel. When Sepulveda and her wife, Tami, relocated to Medway, Massachusetts, to continue their nursing careers, they found that familiar sense of … Read more

What is the Difference Between Gene Therapy and Immunotherapy?

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Gene therapy and immunotherapy are both types of treatment for cancer and other diseases. They represent different approaches to disease therapy, though there is some overlap.  What is gene therapy?  Gene therapy is a way of treating or preventing disease by altering the genetic instructions within an individual’s cells. Most diseases aren’t caused by a … Read more