Young Metastatic Breast Cancer Survivor Faces Challenges Head-On
After treatment at Dana-Farber, Dena Ofengeim was able to get on her bike, train with her friends, and complete the Pan-Mass Challenge.
After treatment at Dana-Farber, Dena Ofengeim was able to get on her bike, train with her friends, and complete the Pan-Mass Challenge.
Over the past 30 years, outcomes have improved dramatically for women with breast cancer. There are many new treatments, including hormone therapies and CDK4/6 inhibitors. In contrast, there has been no improvement in the outcomes for men with breast cancer. And current guidelines don’t support the use of newer therapies in men. “If we do … Read more
As a veteran scuba diver who has donned her wetsuit around the globe, Stephanie Lafontaine is never more at peace than when deep below the water’s surface. Even if she’s sharing the depths with sharks, she considers it her happy place. So when Lafontaine, 42, learned in April 2019 that she had inflammatory breast cancer … Read more
Sally Johnston cannot be slowed down. She just recently returned from a month-long trip to South Africa for a safari, and Namibia to visit a longtime friend, and is already planning her next excursion. The 74-year-old survivor has always been active, and she says it’s time to achieve her goal of visiting all seven continents. … Read more
Investigators who run investigator-initiated trials (IITs) have two essential qualities. One is curiosity, which keeps them alert, aware of discoveries, and able to make connections that lead to new treatment ideas. The second is determination. “The burden of responsibility for what is typically a many-year-long study falls on that one investigator,” says Ursula Matulonis, MD, … Read more
A frequent component of treatment for breast cancer is surgery to remove the cancer. While mastectomy was more common in decades past, experts at Dana-Farber want you to know that science and treatment have advanced. Improved screening, early diagnosis, and advances in medicine are enabling many more patients to have the option of breast-conserving surgery, … Read more
Laura Orfanedes was worried that she was going to end up with breast cancer. No one in her family had it, and yet she could not shake the feeling. So she took action. She went in for her first mammogram at age 40. In December 2009, at age 43, her annual scan showed an area … Read more
The trip from Nantucket to Boston, involving a long drive and ferry ride, is an arduous four-hour journey (not counting summer traffic). But when Nantucket resident and retired educator, Claudia Kilvert, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she committed to regularly getting in the car with her husband and 80-pound golden retriever Luna to get treatment … Read more
Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and affects almost 300,000 women in the United States every year. The good news is that with early detection, the chances of successful treatment are higher. This is why breast cancer screening — which uses tests and imaging to detect cancer in people without … Read more
People who inherit mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at heightened risk for a variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic. It’s estimated that one in 300-400 people in the general population carry a mutation in either of these genes. Among people of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent, the prevalence is … Read more
During a long career in the food industry, Susan Greelish, 64, has prided herself on forming strong, familial-like bonds with her colleagues and customers. When it came to her treatment for breast cancer and kidney cancer, however, these feelings of kinship and trust were missing — until she found her newest family just a few … Read more
In a branch of the PI3K protein family — with members named PI3Kα, PI3Kβ, PI3Kδ, and PI3Kγ — PI3Kβ was long treated as the proverbial middle child: neglected by cancer scientists in favor of its more prominent siblings. In a new study, Dana-Farber researchers demonstrate that it doesn’t deserve its obscurity — that in fact … Read more
By Valerie Frank Ever since I can remember, I’ve made people laugh. I was always the funny friend, and when I was in my mid-20s I made it official by becoming a Main Stage cast member of ImprovBoston — an improvisational comedy theater in Cambridge, MA. Once I retired from improv to become a suburban … Read more
One of the ways of classifying breast cancers is by the level of a protein called HER2 on the surface of tumor cells. HER2, which stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, helps control how breast cells grow, divide, and repair damage. Breast cancers marked by high levels of HER2 are known as HER2-positive … Read more
Just over a year after giving birth to her son, Emmett, Abigail Myers faced a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer in March 2014. It started when Myers woke up one morning feeling sore. When she found a lump, she rushed to her doctor, all the while in disbelief that she might have cancer. A resident … Read more
Millions of people regularly take or use contraceptives, such as birth control pills, to avoid unwanted pregnancy or relieve menstruation-related side effects such as cramps or heavy bleeding. There is some evidence that contraceptives may affect cancer risk — specifically, that oral contraceptives may increase the likelihood of developing breast and cervical cancers but reduce … Read more
At first, Joy Mills and Arthur “Buck” Benedict look like any other happy, older couple traveling by ferry from their home on Peaks Island, Maine, to Portland. Admiring the beautiful views, they sit outside when weather permits. They laugh, chat with friends, and occasionally needle each other during the 18-minute trip. Once a month, the … Read more
When Jennifer Fullerton was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29, her mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. “I thought I was going to die. That first day all I could think was ‘why me,’” Fullerton says. “My mom very poignantly told me, ‘Today you can say ‘why me,’ but tomorrow, ‘why not me’. And you … Read more
Nancy Arsenault was taking a lunch break from driving her elementary school bus route in her hometown of Stow, Massachusetts, when she began to experience double vision. She had been first diagnosed with pre-invasive breast cancer in 2006, which recurred in 2011. In 2019, she developed an invasive breast cancer in her chest wall and … Read more
Plant-based diets have many known health benefits, but can they reduce the risk of breast cancer? In fact, some evidence suggests that people who eat rich in non-starchy vegetables may be at lower risk of some kinds of breast cancer. However, Dana-Farber physician and researcher Jennifer Ligibel, MD, cautions that the evidence that consuming a … Read more