As a fruit and vegetable farmer, Douglas Young measures his life’s work by the seasons. Since receiving a stem cell transplant for his rare blood cancer, he has been able to enjoy more harvests than he once thought possible — inspiring him to seek out the stranger responsible for saving his life. In spring 2019, … Continued
Reduced-intensity stem cell transplants, which don’t require the traditional week-long hospital stay, are offered to qualified patients at many cancer treatment centers across the country, including Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center. These outpatient transplants (also known as ambulatory transplants) are identical in virtually every respect to those performed on an inpatient basis, with the exception … Continued
For most of his life, Jim Calhoun never paid attention to college football; his football fandom started and ended with the New York Giants. This year, however, he’ll be closely following the team at Tulane University — in particular, the offensive lineman who saved his life. In 2017, Calhoun, now 45, was diagnosed with acute … Continued
There was a time when Georgette Hannoush couldn’t imagine a bright future. In a four-year span, the mother of four—including triplets—was diagnosed with two different types of cancer. But because of her team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Hannoush has been in remission for more than three years—and she credits her faith and the people she … Continued
Alan Dynner was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2016 at 76 years old. Treatment for the cancer would require a life-saving stem cell transplant, a procedure that most hospitals deemed too grueling for someone Dynner’s age. But thanks in large part to treatment options a short drive from his Boston home at Dana-Farber/Brigham … Continued
After undergoing the myriad challenges of a stem cell transplant and the procedure’s recovery, cancer survivor Peter Gordon is now helping others better understand the process from a patient’s point of view.
Of the many stem cell transplant advances in the past 10 to 15 years, none has had as dramatic an impact as the recent development of successful haploidentical or “half-matched” transplants, which have vastly expanded the pool of donors.
Stem cell transplants are performed in order to give a patient new blood cells, as well as a new immune system. It is this new immune system that plays a key role in making certain blood cancers go away and stay away.
Bone marrow failure occurs when the bone marrow – the soft, spongy center of the bones – fails to produce enough healthy blood cells to keep up with the body’s needs.
A stem cell transplant is an infusion of healthy stem cells. Stem cells are located within the bone marrow and are the cells from which all other blood cells and the immune system are created.
Stem cell transplantation, otherwise known as bone marrow transplantation, is the infusion of healthy stem cells into the body to stimulate new bone marrow growth. Stem cells are vital to a person’s ability to fight infection, and stem cell transplants are performed on children whose stem cells have been damaged by disease or invasive treatments for … Continued
A stem cell transplant is an infusion of healthy stem cells. Stem cells are located within the bone marrow and are the cells from which all other blood cells and the immune system are created. Introducing healthy stem cells into the blood enables the production of all of the different parts of the blood that … Continued
Donor stem cell transplants and other cellular therapies are treatment approaches that harness the immune system to fight cancer using cells from the patient or from healthy donors. Stem cell transplants are used to treat blood-related cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, as well as certain non-cancerous blood disorders. Patients first receive chemotherapy … Continued
He doesn’t start medical school until August, but Matthew Churitch has already helped save a patient – and gained valuable insight into the role that hope and kindness can play in recovery. Churitch visited Dana-Farber last month with Peter Karalekas, to whom he donated stem cells two years ago. Karalekas, 76, who also underwent chemotherapy … Continued
They grew up in the same house and still vacation together each summer, but Pam and Paula Gorgone do some of their best sisterly bonding when they’re giving platelets. Every other Thursday, with rare exceptions, the siblings sit side-by-side at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center and donate platelets. They chat, watch the news, and … Continued
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 … Continued
By Rich Rothman In September 2013, I had a bone marrow transplant that doctors advised was the only potential cure for a blood cancer known as MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome). Although we lived in New York City, we chose to have the transplant done at Dana Farber because we were impressed with everything we saw and … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
An autologous transplant uses a person’s own stem cells. An allogeneic transplant uses stem cells from a donor whose human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are acceptable matches to the patient’s. A stem cell transplant is a procedure during which doctors either replace diseased or ineffective stem cells with healthy new stem cells or allow high-dose treatment … Continued
