Chris Potter was not a fan of flying, until a group of pilots he had never met transported him to his life-saving care team. Potter, then 42, was struggling through a relapse of acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2011. His cancer was not responding to treatment, and he required at least a temporary remission to handle … 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
By Chelsea Smith Don’t take life for granted. Each day you wake up is an amazing gift. Even though I’ve felt a lot of pain in my life, it’s made me stronger. I’ve always been hopeful for tomorrow, and sometimes that hope pays off. My roller coaster started when I was 15 months old and … Read more
The math teacher in Faye Ruopp loves to look at life in equations. One of her favorites after she was diagnosed in June 2014 with breast cancer was “lumpectomy + radiation = mastectomy.” She would notice this theme of “less is more” often during her treatment at Dana-Farber’s Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers. … Read more
As the wife of a New England sportscaster, and the sister and mother of athletes, Lisa Eid understands sports metaphors. So when the 48-year-old non-smoker learned that she had stage IV lung cancer last year, she knew what her husband, Dave, meant when he said, “We need to find the Tom Brady of lung cancer … Read more
By Steve Pierce I recently read the Insight blog post, From Pediatric to Young Adult Patient: The Importance of Advocating for Yourself, and I found it very enlightening. As I read about Jeremy’s experience dealing with cancer as a young adult, it occurred to me that his point of view has a flip-side: parenting a young adult … Read more
As a way to celebrate being one year cancer-free, Worcester, Mass. Police officer and Iraq War veteran Jonathan “J.D.” Daige rode the 2015 Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) to raise money for cancer research. The 192-mile ride was no small feat, as he rode with only two thirds of his right lung and 90 percent of his … Read more
By Todd Ellison, MSW, LICSW I often tell people that the experiences I’ve had, however challenging, were necessary to make me who I am today. I am pretty happy with the person I turned out to be, and I think cancer had a lot to do with that. Back in 1997, I was living in … Read more
Evan Lavigne was part of tight-knit units, both as a high school hockey player and a member of the United States Coast Guard. And when the 24-year-old learned in January that he had lymphoma – just one week before entering the police academy – teammates were there to support him. Lavigne, already a conditional member … Read more
By Melissa Angiolillo On January 7, 2015, I went to bed having no idea that the next day my life would change forever. I was at work, waiting for a call from my doctor saying the biopsy performed three days prior was benign. My phone rang and I didn’t want to answer it, which was … Read more
By Samantha Watson I went through cancer treatment twice in my early 20s, diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in December 1999 and secondary myelodysplastic syndrome (pre-leukemia) in April 2001. I had to leave college to go through chemo, surgeries and eventually a bone marrow transplant, and I sat in a hospital room as my friends graduated, … Read more
By Carl Nickerson Recently I was getting out of my car in front of a Latin restaurant when a man stopped me. I had been interviewed a few days before during the WEEI-NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon about my experience with testicular cancer, and featured in Boston’s Latino newspaper, El Mundo, about the importance of testicular … Read more
From understanding medical jargon to experiencing “scanxiety,” entering a cancer center for the first time can be overwhelming. For young adults starting to establish their independence, the experience can be especially intimidating. Having a care team you know and trust, and seeking psychosocial support in the form of counseling or support groups, can help many … Read more
By Jeremy Pivor I have been living with cancer for half my life: first as a 12-year-old boy, and now as a 24-year-old young adult. In the 12 years since I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, I have been cared for at Dana-Farber, where I am currently receiving treatment for an inoperable recurrence. Despite … Read more
Gina Johnson and Connie Grayson have a combined 53 years teaching in the public school system. Last year, however, their cancer diagnoses prompted them to incorporate a new element into their lesson plans. “When I was diagnosed with lymphoma in September 2014, one of my student’s moms had just passed away from cancer,” says Grayson, … Read more
By Becky Sail At age 22, I was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma called aggressive angiomyxoma – say that 10 times fast. When my parents and I got the news we asked the doctor, “Is it cancer?” He responded, “That is a complicated question.” He said he had never seen it before and I needed … Read more
After trying chemotherapy to fight acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer, Donnie Lewis, a 56-year-old husband and father of two from Canton, Mass., learned that his best chance to return to health would be through a stem cell transplant. Because Donnie didn’t have any siblings who were a match for this procedure, his care … Read more
By Heather Francis Some people worry when they get married that they won’t be able to handle the challenges of life as a couple. That won’t be a problem for my fiancé and me. Harry and I started dating in April 2011, when I was 24 and he was 25. Soon after, he started feeling … Read more
During a year in which both his wife and mother battled cancer, Andrew Macrae often felt as if he were summiting a mountain. Now, to honor their journey and support Dana-Farber, Macrae is scaling the 29,029 feet needed to reach the peak of the world’s tallest mountain – Mount Everest – without nearing the Himalayas. … Read more
When Jenn Jackson, a trained physician, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in 2011 and found out she could no longer practice medicine, the news was devastating. “Getting this cancer diagnosis changed the whole trajectory of my life,” says Jackson, who was diagnosed at 35, after completing 10 years of medical training. But, craving a greater sense … Read more