On July 20, 2009, Michele Milso was leaving the gym when she received a call from her radiologist. That call changed her life. “He told me I have breast cancer,” says Milso, who lives in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. “It was the last thing I thought I’d hear.” To maintain a healthy lifestyle, Milso ate well, exercised … Read more
In February 2024, while being treated for pneumonia, doctors noticed that Rebecca Santorelli’s spleen was enlarged. “No one was concerned at first,” recalls Santorelli, 61, who lives outside of Albany, New York. Doctors estimate spleen size with fingerbreadths — or approximate widths of a finger — below the rib cage, with normal being about zero. … Read more
By Jennifer Peters On April 23, 2024, my life jumped onto a conveyor belt I never saw coming — one that would race me through numerous exam rooms, tests, and heartfelt conversations. The diagnosis? Triple-negative breast cancer. I’d never even heard of it. I thought breast cancer was all the same. Boy, was I wrong. But even in that first shocking moment, I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to do … Read more
Marsha Olsen’s grandmother always used to say, “You have one body, take good care of it.” And for most of her life, Olsen has spread that message as a middle school physical education and health teacher instilling healthy habits in her students. “I wanted all my students to have a positive experience in physical education, … Read more
When Donna McDaniel came to Dana-Farber with what she thought was lung cancer in 2024, she could barely walk and struggled to breathe. She’d been treated elsewhere, but the drugs had seemingly stopped working. Her quality of life was suffering, and she couldn’t keep up with her busy catering job at Blue Cross Blue Shield. … Read more
Leah Christoforidis was pregnant with her fourth child when she began feeling pain in her lower back. Her doctor initially figured it was a muscle tear, but something told Christoforidis that wasn’t right, and she successfully advocated for an ultrasound. A few weeks later, Christoforidis faced a new kidney cancer diagnosis instead of a routine … Read more
Shelly Sepulveda grew up in Borger, Texas, a Panhandle town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people. A strong sense of connectedness bound the community together, creating long-lasting friendships and a tight-knit feel. When Sepulveda and her wife, Tami, relocated to Medway, Massachusetts, to continue their nursing careers, they found that familiar sense of … Read more
On the surface, it might appear that Meghan McLyman and Jay Wood don’t have much in common. McLyman is a mother and professor who teaches dance, and Wood is a stay-at-home father and former architect. They came to Dana-Farber for different reasons — McLyman had breast cancer and Wood was diagnosed with prostate cancer — … Read more
Linda Lane was still fatigued months after having COVID-19 in January of 2021. “I told my doctor that I had not been this tired since I had a newborn in the house,” says Lane, now 57 and living on Cape Cod. “That got her attention.” Her bloodwork came back with abnormal results. By May, the … Read more
A few years ago, Oscar Diep, a 33-year-old software engineer living in Weymouth, Mass., started needing blood transfusions more often to manage a blood disorder called beta thalassemia. He also noticed that it was becoming harder for the nurses to find a vein for his infusions. On top of this, Diep and his then girlfriend, … Read more
“The world needs more Dr. Soiffers – and more Nicoles.” Such is the wisdom of Judy Mangione, 80, who credits these two individuals for the fulfilling life she is enjoying with her husband, Bob, and their combined six children and 10 grandchildren. Robert Soiffer, MD, treated Mangione with the January 2022 stem cell transplant that … Read more
Like many people, Karen Lagasse has never been a big fan of the dentist. But she’ll always be thankful for a 2013 tooth extraction for paving the way to a life-saving discovery. Noticing Lagasse’s elevated blood pressure, her dentist asked when she had last visited the doctor. Lagasse admitted it had been a few years, … Read more
When Clelia Lavoie, then 49, began experiencing abdominal pain in 2019, she had a feeling it was something serious despite dismissals from her doctor. Lavoie’s intuition was right. A colonoscopy led to a diagnosis of stage IV colorectal cancer that had metastasized to her thyroid, back, and liver. She needed surgery to remove part of … Read more
As a 20-year mammographer, 72-year-old Catherine Mulqueen often encountered patients at their most vulnerable. And she was always proactive about her own healthcare, especially because her cystic breasts made potentially worrisome lumps hard to detect. Mulqueen stayed current on mammograms until 2010 when her husband, Michael, became gravely ill with renal cell carcinoma. When she … Read more
Editor’s Note: Kathy Ball-Toncic completed her 162-mile PMC ride on Aug. 2-3. “I cried many tears of joy,” she said afterwards. “A particular highlight was my oncologist Dr. Huffman coming out to cheer me on. That was a great surprise!” Nearly 1,300 cyclists will be riding in their first Pan-Mass Challenge® (PMC) this weekend, each … Read more
In 2023, Jackie Coté had just been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Feeling shocked and overwhelmed, she and her friend Nancy Gill, who accompanied Coté to her appointment, silently made their way to the front desk to schedule Coté’s weekly chemotherapy. As Coté entered the appointments into her phone calendar, Gill did the same in … Read more
While participating in a clinical trial, Kathleen McEvoy-Schufreider, a 60-year-old communications executive living in Haverhill, Mass., traveled to Dana-Farber for scans every twelve weeks to monitor her cancer. In between appointments, it was hard to put the scans out of her mind. “I was living in twelve-week bursts,” says McEvoy-Schufreider, who was diagnosed with early-stage … Read more
The first time Jackie Dunn tracked her husband Mike’s numbers, he was a high school basketball star and she was the team statistician. More than 40 years later, she was back at it — this time with far more on the line than a ballgame. The Dunns had temporarily relocated in the summer of 2024 … Read more
While planning her annual breast cancer fundraiser in Hull, Mass., Ellie Destito’s friends learned some surprising news. For the first time, their friend revealed that she was living with breast cancer herself. “They had no idea,” recalls Destito, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2008. Through the years, she was treated with … Read more
After her breast cancer surgery, Tia struggled with mobility in her left shoulder. It felt as though the joint was frozen, and she could feel some swelling in her chest. After several dead ends, she learned that this feeling may be caused by early-stage lymphedema. This condition is a common side effect of breast cancer … Read more