How are Adult and Pediatric Leukemia Alike and Different?
Leukemia is a blood cancer that results when stem cells in the bone marrow produce abnormal blood cells.
Leukemias
After Three Cancer Diagnoses, Couple Exchanges Vows
During a “couples chemo” session, Kevin got down on one knee and popped the question to Tim, his partner of 37 years. They tied the knot in the Healing Garden at Dana-Farber.
Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy: What Does “Chimeric” Mean?
One of the most exciting new cancer treatments, CAR T-cell therapy takes its complicated name, in part, from a fire-breathing monster in an ancient Greek myth. CAR is an acronym for “chimeric antigen receptor,” referring to genetically engineered molecules manufactured in a laboratory, inserted into the genetic material of immune T cells that have been … Read more
CAR T-Cell Therapy: Is It Right For You?
CAR T-cell therapy is a cancer treatment in which a patient’s immune system T cells are genetically modified to mount a more effective attack on cancer. As of May 2018, CAR T-cell therapy has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as standard therapy for some adult patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has relapsed after … Read more
Stem Cell Transplant Recipient Celebrates 20 Years of Life with Caregivers
Twenty years to the day after undergoing the stem cell transplant that saved him, Todd Ellison reunited with the Dana-Farber caregivers who changed his life – in more ways than one. Ellison, who was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in his early 20s, shared handshakes and “thank you” cake with his doctors Joseph Antin, … Read more
Identical Twins Share with Near Identical Cancer Diagnoses
Identical twins George and Greg Robinson have been inseparable for 57 years, from sharing a childhood bedroom and classes in school through dual Air Force stints and careers in the airline industry. Today, back in their native Cambridge, Mass., they live just a block apart and still talk several times daily. But there is one … Read more
What Are The Side Effects of CAR T-Cell Therapy?
CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy in which patients’ T cells are modified to become better at tracking down and destroying tumor cells. CAR T cells are made by extracting thousands of a patient’s T cells, sending them to a lab where they’re outfitted with genes and proteins that improve their cancer-fighting prowess, … Read more
FDA Approves New Targeted Therapies for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has signed off on a new targeted treatment for some patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an often aggressive disease and the most common adult acute leukemia. The FDA approved the drug Idhifa (enasidenib) specifically for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML who have … Read more
What Care Do I Need After a Stem Cell Transplant?
A stem cell transplant can be a lifesaving treatment for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, or certain blood-related disorders. In many cases, however, transplants increase patients’ risk for an array of long-term health problems, often caused by the high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy used prior to the transplant. Dana-Farber’s Adult Stem Cell Survivorship … Read more
A ‘Lost Boy of Sudan’ Shares History – With Help From Stem Cell Transplantee
After walking 1,000 miles in his bare feet to escape war, and then flying 7,000 more to a new life, it was a few, short steps into a hospital room that helped Panther Ajak Mayen complete his journey. One of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who escaped a civil war in his homeland 30 years … Read more
He Lost His Sight to Cancer, But Not His Vision of a Full Life
When Tim Conners collected his wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2012 at the age of 18, he was blind from childhood leukemia that had spread to his optic nerve. A football player and wrestler who’d never been an outdoorsman, he asked to meet Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb the Seven Summits … Read more
The Latest Advances Against Hematologic Cancers
Treatment of blood-related, or hematologic, cancers is seizing on insights into the basic genetic wiring of cancer cells and the body’s system for finding and attacking those cells. Research presentations at the annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in December gave evidence of how broad, and rapid, the progress is. Targeted therapies, new combinations … Read more
Doctor and Nurse Team Up for Blood Cancers Support Group
By Ronni Gordon When my year of isolation ended after a stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in 2003, I looked for a blood cancer support group near my home in western Massachusetts. I found support groups for just about everyone except patients like me with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other … Read more
Q&A with Young Adult Cancer Survivor Andrew McMahon
Andrew McMahon, founder of Dear Jack Foundation and front man of the band Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, was diagnosed with leukemia at 22, in the midst of his musical career. Like other young adults with cancer, McMahon’s treatment affected every aspect of his life, from career to relationships and everything in between. Learn more … Read more
Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #2: Then and Now with Leukemia Survivor Ben Blaisdell
Ben Blaisdell was a popular 16-year-old when he started experiencing uncharacteristic chills, which led to an anemia diagnosis and, soon after, the surprising news that he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The two-year treatment was tough on him and his entire family, but Blaisdell says that he wouldn’t change his cancer diagnosis even if he … Read more
Do Childhood Leukemia Patients with Down Syndrome Need Modified Therapy?
Because of their increased susceptibility to the toxicities of chemotherapy, should ALL patients with Down syndrome receive modified treatment to minimize this risk? Or should they be given the same treatment as other children with ALL, to minimize the chance for relapse?
What Are the Symptoms of Leukemia?
While leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells, is one of the more common cancers in children, it occurs most frequently in older adults. More than 60,000 new cases of adult leukemia are estimated in the United States for 2016. These cancers are classified as either acute, which means the cancer is fast growing, or … Read more
Leukemia Survivor Embraces Change
For Anna Heard, the fall of 2002 was a season of change. Set to move to Boston in September to begin a master’s program at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Heard, then 29, had a routine physical in Washington, D.C., before starting the academic year. Although her bloodwork looked “a bit funny,” … Read more
Connecting with Nature and Other Patients after Leukemia
By Kathleen Barton When you get diagnosed with cancer, it kicks your butt – both the physical aspects of chemo and the general inertia that comes with this new thing you’re living with. Before my diagnosis, I was active – working, volunteering, exercising, and spending time with friends. Then some bruising and fatigue led me … Read more
83-Year-Old Leukemia Survivor is Riding High… in life and at PMC
Active in physical pursuits and a world traveler, Harry Beskind, MD, was surprised when he started feeling tired while on a bike ride in 2014. He had just returned home from a river trip to Portugal with his wife, and Beskind, then 82, was having trouble riding up hills on his bike. “I thought I was just … Read more