Tailored Treatment and Support for Older Adults with Breast Cancer 

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

What’s the Connection Between BRCA and Ashkenazi Jewish Ancestry? 

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

Research Drives Key Protein from the Shadows to Reveal Its Role in Breast Cancer Subtype 

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

Finding Reason to Laugh with Metastatic Breast Cancer 

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

What is HER2-Low Breast Cancer? 

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

Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer, Mother is Given a Chance to Raise Her Son 

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

Do Contraceptives Reduce or Increase the Risk of Cancer?

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

Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer, Valentines Ferry On

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

Breast Cancer Patient Achieves Her Dreams Thanks to Dana-Farber Care 

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

Mother, Community Leader with Breast Cancer Has Remarkable Response to Immunotherapy

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

Can Plant-Based Diets Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

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

Study Shows How PARP Inhibitors Can Be Empowered in Breast Cancer

Logic said that drugs known as PARP inhibitors would work as well ­— and perhaps even better — in breast cancer marked by BRCA gene mutations than in ovarian cancer carrying the same abnormalities. Clinical results said otherwise. Patients with relapsed, BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer survive longer, overall, with PARP inhibitor treatment than any other therapy. … Read more

Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient Finds Hope — And Passes It On

Lianne Kraemer describes two breast cancer diagnoses before age 40 — including metastatic breast cancer (MBC) that had spread to her brain — as “slamming into one brick wall, getting back on life’s highway, and then slamming into another.” Now, as she continues navigating her way with the disease, Kraemer is helping those traveling a … Read more

Young Mother Embraces Life with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Anne Keane is a big fan of counting, from laps swam to miles ran to birthdays celebrated by her daughter Ruby. The most recent was Ruby’s seventh, and Keane plans on marking many more as she continues enjoying an active lifestyle with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). “We’re just so lucky to get to wake up … Read more

Advances in Myeloma, Breast Cancer, and Clinical Trials Equity: A Dana-Farber Research Update

Results of several phase 3 trials and dozens of other studies led by Dana-Farber researchers were presented online and in person June 3-7 at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest clinical cancer research meeting. Some of the research reports presented by Dana-Farber investigators include: Improved progression-free … Read more

Study Calls for Fresh Look at Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment

For as long as researchers have known about disparities in cancer treatment, they’ve sought to explain them. Do some patients receive different care than others because of race, age, wealth, or gender? Or does the region where they receive treatment matter most? Only by answering questions like these can researchers know where to focus their … Read more

What is a Stereotactic Breast Biopsy?

An annual physical or mammogram can help detect lumps or abnormalities in the breast, but these exams cannot tell whether a growth is cancerous or noncancerous. If a breast lump or abnormality is found in your breast, your doctor may advise you to have a breast biopsy. A stereotactic breast biopsy is a kind of … Read more