Felipe Estrela thought things couldn’t get tougher when he was diagnosed with a rare soft tissue cancer called biphasic synovial sarcoma in 2014. Then, shortly after having a tumor the size of a small football removed from his right leg, the 29-year-old faced a new challenge: an above-the-knee amputation. A husband and father of three … Read more
This post originally appeared on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research. It was originally published Jan. 10, 2017. By Srivani Ravoori, PhD As we step into 2017, a big question looming in the minds of all stakeholders in the cancer research arena is: What is the future of … Read more
Olivia Bowie says she’s never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. Since she couldn’t keep commitments like eating healthier or working out more, she didn’t bother making them, the college student jokes. Then, in 2015, doctors discovered she had rhabdomyosarcoma. “Being diagnosed with cancer, and going through treatment, has changed my whole outlook,” says Bowie, … Read more
A cancer care team often involves quite a few players: oncologists, nurses, radiation oncologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and others. While these experts often improve patient outcomes, such a large multidisciplinary team can sometimes make communication and coordination difficult. Dana-Farber’s Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care department is working to change that. Palliative care clinicians are now … Read more
Medically reviewed by Charles Thomas, MS, MBA People infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or AIDS are more susceptible to certain types of cancer than people who are not infected. In fact, some types of cancers are so common in people with HIV that they are referred to as AIDS-related or AIDS-defining cancers – including … Read more
While some may wonder, cancer is not contagious; a healthy person cannot catch cancer from a person who has the disease, nor can it be spread by close contact with a cancer patient. Cancer cells are far different from infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. A cancer cell is essentially a normal cell whose … Read more
Combination therapy, the use of more than one type of therapy in treating a patient, is a hallmark of cancer treatment. The complexity of the disease – its tendency to spread beyond its original site and become resistant to certain drugs, and its genetic diversity – underscores the need for a variety of approaches to … Read more
Neoadjuvant therapy is given to shrink a tumor in advance of the main treatment, which is usually surgery. It is sometimes called preoperative or induction therapy. The most common forms of neoadjuvant therapy are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. By shrinking tumors prior to removal, these treatments can make surgery easier for both the … Read more
The ball leaps off the metal bat with an unmistakable “ping” that denotes good contact. Miles Goldberg runs to first base, from which the 13-year-old will soon contemplate – and safely execute – a steal of second. Miles is used to transitioning naturally with the seasons from football to hockey to baseball. This year, however, has … Read more
Keeping up with progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy requires paying close attention. The number of approved drugs that help the body’s immune system fight cancer continues to grow, as does the list of different cancers in which immunotherapy is proving effective – in some cases yielding dramatically longer-lasting benefits than standard chemotherapy. A … Read more
Adult histiocyte disorders are a group of rare diseases that involve an over-production of white blood cells known as histiocytes, which destroy foreign substances and protect the body from infection. In adults, Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is the most common of these diseases. LCH arises when specialized histiocytes called dendritic cells become too abundant in … Read more
More than 50 feet above ground, a wire rope extends from one tree to another. High in the trees, seven-year-old Carter Mock fearlessly steps off a platform and places first one foot, then the other, onto the wire. Holding tight to hanging ropes for balance, he navigates across the wire to the next tree. It’s … Read more
Her voice at first sings softly, then gradually gains intensity and rises to a crescendo as she belts out the refrain of a tune she and her dad co-wrote: “You’re not standing alone!” 15-year-old Carlie Gonzalez has been singing and making music for as long as she can remember. But these days singing has new … Read more
Age is the biggest single risk factor for cancer. Risk increases significantly after age 50, and half of all cancers occur at age 66 and above. According to the National Cancer Institute, one quarter of new cancer diagnoses are in people aged 65 to 74. The median age of diagnosis varies in different cancer types … 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
This post originally appeared on HuffPost Impact. By Joan Lucca, RN, MSN Nearly four decades ago, I became a nurse and dedicated my life’s work to the care and comfort of patients. The ‘70s was a decade of change and opportunity as doors began to open for women in emerging science and technical fields. At … Read more
They arrived at their profession – and to Dana-Farber – on different paths, but nurses Jade Callender, RN, BSN; Jane Goldie, RN; Kaitlen Reyes, DNP, FNP; and Courtney Shea, RN, BSN, share a passion for oncology nursing. In honor of National Nurses Week May 6-12, the four share what they enjoy most about their roles. … Read more
Ronaldo de Oliveira was close to death. The 33-year-old father of two young children had been diagnosed with myeloid sarcoma, a rare form of leukemia that worsened despite treatment with six different chemotherapy regimens. His wife pleaded with his oncologist, Richard Stone, MD, director of the Adult Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber, to find something else … Read more
By Stephen Perez Cancer has a way of putting your life on hold and making you prioritize your health, treatments, and your best attempts to not feel sick through the process. While there’s never a good time for this interruption, my diagnosis came at a particularly difficult time: the second semester of my senior year … 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