When facing a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, patients often have many questions about clinical trials: Is a clinical trial right for me? When is a good time to consider a clinical trial? What types of treatments might be available? While there may be many questions about the process, the decision to participate in a … Read more
For otherwise healthy individuals, a CT scan or an MRI is an uncommon event. But for cancer survivors like Jeremy Pivor, it’s a routine part of life. So too is the anxiety that often accompanies each test – often referred to as “scanxiety.” Diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 12, Pivor navigated his way … Read more
The blood-brain barrier surrounds the brain and prevents harmful toxins and bacteria in the blood stream from entering the vital organ. What evolved as a life-saving defense, however, also blocks many drugs from reaching the brain, creating a major problem in treating brain tumors. The blood-brain barrier is formed by tightly-packed cells lining the walls … Read more
Back when D.N. Chadha, MA, was a pharmaceutical executive meeting with Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, in 2002, he never imagined he’d see the physician years later – this time for rectal cancer treatment. “The name rang a bell, and as soon as I saw him, I knew,” says Chadha, 74, of his first appointment with … Read more
A traditional biopsy is a test in which a piece of tissue is removed from a patient for analysis in a laboratory. A pathologist examines the tissue under a microscope, noting the shape, structure, and internal activity of the cells to determine whether the cells are cancerous and, if so, what type of cancer they … Read more
Hormone therapy might more accurately be called anti-hormone therapy because it works by blocking hormones that spur certain cancers to grow. Hormones act by attaching to proteins, called receptors, on the outside of cells, resulting in cell or cancer growth. Reducing this type of cancer cell growth by blocking hormones is used most commonly in … Read more
While the end of active cancer treatment may bring some relief, it can also bring many questions and anxieties for young patients and their families. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, discusses topics around fertility, growth, late effects of treatment, … Read more
A doctor’s visit can be stressful, but for some cancer patients, the exams and procedures that come with diagnosis and treatment can be especially anxiety-inducing. For some, the mixture of anxiety and a negative experience during a procedure can lead to the development of a medical phobia. For others, the demands of cancer treatment force … Read more
If you type “detox and cancer” into an Internet search engine, you’ll get an avalanche of websites, articles, products, patient testimonials, and practitioners claiming that cancer can be prevented or even cured by diets or “cleanses” that rid the body of “toxins.” Are these approaches safe? Are they effective? It’s not necessarily as straightforward as … Read more
Testing is a key part of a medical diagnosis, including cancer. Different kinds of tests and screenings are used to diagnose cancer and monitor it as a patient is treated. Test results can have two different outcomes: positive or negative. A positive test result indicates the condition being looked for is or may be present, … Read more
Although there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer, new developments in treatment and research are helping patients live longer and experience a better quality of life. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Eric Winer, MD, director of Breast Oncology Program in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber, discusses the latest … Read more
Historically, brain tumors have been some of the most challenging types of cancers. A protective barrier around the brain—called the “blood-brain barrier”—can prevent cancer treatments from reaching the tumor. Recently, increased interest in immunotherapy has given new hope to getting through this barrier. “We know the immune system can get into the brain to fight … Read more
Along with surgery and chemotherapy, radiation therapy has long been a mainstay of cancer treatment. It uses high-energy waves or particles such as x-rays, gamma rays, electrons, or protons to destroy or damage tumor cells. Radiation creates small breaks within the DNA of cancer cells, preventing the cells from growing and dividing, and often causing … Read more
Medically reviewed by Gordon Freeman, PhD New drugs that stimulate the patient’s immune system to attack tumors have achieved some dramatic and long-lasting benefits in several forms of cancer. A few drugs are already approved for wide use and many more are in the research pipeline. Because these immunotherapy agents work differently than chemotherapy, the … Read more
When Roy Jann was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, it never crossed his mind that he would be a model for the life-saving potential of venetoclax, a new type of cancer drug that had recently entered human testing. The first inkling that something was amiss had come a few weeks earlier, while Jann was biking … Read more
This post originally appeared on WBUR’s CommonHealth blog. By Barrett Rollins, MD, PhD President Obama’s call for a new national effort against cancer – a “moon shot” – comes at a most opportune time. Cancer research has advanced significantly and now genomic analysis of individuals’ tumors can reveal the specific DNA changes that drive cancer … Read more
This blog post originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s science and clinical innovation blog. By Tom Ulrich For some pediatric cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, older forms of therapy — and older ways of defining who receives which therapy — have served well over the last few decades. But that approach is no longer … Read more
One of the most important parts of cancer treatment involves talking with your cancer care team. During your care it’s vital that you are able to openly discuss different aspects of your health, treatment, and symptoms you might be experiencing. To make the most of conversations with your care team, consider the following tips: Do … Read more
Clinical trials are a key part of medical science’s effort to improve treatments for cancer patients. There are a variety of different types of trials, including therapeutic clinical trials, which test the safety and effectiveness of potential new agents in patients. Some patients participate in several therapeutic clinical trials, in succession, over the course of … Read more
By Fremonta Meyer, MD Many people – cancer patients and others – have fears and misconceptions about taking medication to manage their mood, reduce anxiety, and treat conditions such as depression. Some believe taking medication for psychological reasons means they are weak, while others fear they will get addicted to medication or that they will … Read more