Patti Keenan was a senior in high school before learning that the mysterious disease she was treated for twice as a young girl in the 60s was, in fact, a rare form of cancer. Her parents, not wanting to frighten Patti at a time when pediatric cancer survival rates were much lower, kept their daughter’s … Read more
Carcinomas and sarcomas are different types of cancer. Carcinomas are much more common than sarcomas, but the biggest difference between them is where they occur in the body. Carcinomas are usually named for the location where they arise (such as breast cancer, colon cancer). Sarcomas can occur in many different body locations and are generally … Read more
One of the rarest of rare cancers, cardiac angiosarcoma is a tumor of the heart that has gained some notoriety because it caused the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh in 2021 at the age of only 41. Abloh, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear and the founder of his own brand, Off-White, lived … Read more
Asked how he has dealt with three bouts of bone cancer and a partial right leg amputation in less than four years, 14-year-old Jack Berry says that he takes things “one step at a time.” That is, when he’s not surfing, riding his mountain bike, sprinting across tennis courts, or winning ski races. An osteosarcoma … Read more
Investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, have discovered that knocking out a protein regulator in Ewing sarcoma cells causes the tumor cells to die from an overdose of a cancer-promoting protein. The regulator, a protein known as TRIM8, is critical to the survival of Ewing sarcoma cells because it controls the levels … Read more
Cancers originating in the bone, called primary bone cancers, are rare and account for less than 1% of all cancers. There are numerous types of primary bone cancers, and in most cases, the cause isn’t known. Primary bone tumors can have changes in the DNA of the cancer cells, but those DNA changes are acquired … Read more
Cancers known as sarcomas develop in the connective tissues, such as muscle, fat, and bone, that hold the body together. Liposarcomas originate from immature fat cells that develop abnormally into cancerous fatty growth as a result of errors that can develop in its genes. Sarcomas are rare, accounting for about 1% of cancers in … Read more
To make Sarcoma Awareness Month, we take a look at the symptoms of Ewing sarcoma, a rare disease that grows from cells in bones or in the soft tissue surrounding bones.
One doctor had initially forecast that Acra Samuels had no more than six months to live. Targeted treatment through Dana-Farber has almost certainly extended her life significantly.
Deciding to have a baby can be a happy – and sometimes scary – time for parents. Worries and questions about finances, the future, and the baby’s health are common. But most parents-to-be don’t have a cancer diagnosis looming over their heads like Abby and Tom Morgan did. A 32-year-old teacher, Abby says she always wanted … Read more
By Lyndsay McCaffery Two months. That’s how long I knew I had cancer before it was gone. I was a patient, and then a survivor, all before I had time to process what was happening to me. It has been almost five years and I am still trying to wrap my head around it. I’m … Read more
Soft tissue sarcoma refers to cancer that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, or other supporting tissue of the body. View the slideshow below to learn more about signs and symptoms of this cancer, as well as risk factors. Learn more from Dana-Farber's Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology Learn more from … Read more
By Mary Anne Oldford I was born to survive. Before I was born, I almost lost my life when my mother had a fibroid tumor surgically removed while I was still in the womb. Later, as a 5-year-old, I was diagnosed with polio, paralyzed, and told I would never walk again. After years of therapy in … Read more
Ewing sarcoma is a cancer that grows in the bones and soft tissues, usually in the thigh or pelvis. It is most common in children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 20, and more common in boys than girls. Although most patients are teenagers, Ewing sarcoma can sometimes occur in older adults … Read more
By Lyndsay McCaffery When you find out you have cancer, your mind goes to a million different places. You have an endless amount of questions, an overwhelming sense of panic, and life as you know it is changed forever. I was diagnosed with parosteal osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, right after I gave birth … Read more
Twenty-year-old Amanda Lee has always wanted to be a nurse. But after a life-changing diagnosis in 2012, Lee suddenly had a more personal motivation to pursue her career goals. After seeing her primary care doctor for pain in her lower back, doctors determined Lee had a tumor that was causing internal bleeding. Lee, then 17, … Read more
Cancers known as sarcomas develop in the connective tissues, such as muscle, fat, and bone, that hold the body together. The type of sarcoma called liposarcoma originates in fat cells that have been driven by random DNA errors into malignant growth, forming tumors. George Demetri, MD, director of Dana-Farber’s Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, … Read more