By Samantha Lozier I never truly realized how complicated cancer could be until I had to face it head on. Part of what makes it so complex, I’ve found, is that illness or not, we still have that inner “gremlin” inside all of us that tells us to care what others think and behave as … 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
The immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is the first therapy of any kind to improve survival in patients whose metastatic bladder cancer worsened after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy. Keytruda proved so much better than chemotherapy in this “second-line” use that an international clinical trial was halted when the advantage became apparent. “This is very good news; … 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
Cancer is most dangerous when it has spread, or metastasized, from its original site in the body. A tumor that began as an isolated mass – often treatable by surgery and/or radiation therapy – can become a dispersed, much more difficult to treat, malignancy. For cancer to spread, several steps must occur. As a result … Read more
Traditionally, the war on cancer has been waged from the outside in, with therapies such as surgery, radiation, and drugs entering the body from external sources. For more than 100 years, however, a notion has persisted that the most formidable tool against cancer may come from within: the immune system. The immune system is the … Read more
Information about cancer risk can help you make informed decisions about screening and prevention strategies. As we recognize National Men’s Health Week, learn about the most common cancers in men in the United States and the options for prevention and treatment. 1. Prostate cancer There will be an estimated 180,890 new cases in the U.S. in … 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
This much is known: A sedentary lifestyle raises the risk of cancer, while physical activity – even moderate exercise – can reduce the risk not only of developing cancer but having a recurrence following treatment. What’s not so clear is exactly why. “It’s still a little unknown,” says Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, co-director of Dana-Farber’s … Read more
Understanding the risk factors for cancer can help you make decisions about prevention and screening for early signs of cancer. Here is a look at the five most common cancers in women*, as well as steps you can take to help find these diseases early if needed. 1. Breast cancer As with most cancers, the … Read more
No one wants to give their kids bad news, and it’s hard to imagine worse than telling your kids you have cancer. For lymphoma survivors Gina Johnson and Connie Grayson, the challenge was greater, because they not only had their own kids to tell, but as teachers, they also had a school full of children … Read more
With an estimated 8,500 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed in the U.S. every day, it is important that you not only protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays, but also regularly check your skin for anything out of the ordinary. While freckles and moles are often harmless, it is important to perform regular self-exams … Read more
By Bob Ferris I thought I could handle things myself when my wife, Ruth, got cancer – and for a while I did. Six years ago, at age 52, Ruth was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. She has a family history of ovarian and endometrial cancers, and was always good about getting regular screenings, … 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
Allison Schablein seems an unlikely candidate to teach medicine to Mark Kieran. She’s an 8–year-old New Hampshire second grader who loves basketball, hip hop, acrobatic dancing and jewelry. He’s a pediatric neuro-oncologist with a PhD in molecular biology, not to mention decades of clinical and research experience. But teach Kieran, Allison does. In December 2012, … Read more
Cancers of the cervix are diagnosed in more than 12,000 women in the United States every year. Worldwide, the annual tally of new cases reaches more than half a million. The biggest advance against the disease in recent years has come in the area of prevention. Vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV) – two … Read more
The year 2015 marked a milestone in the treatment of lung cancer, with two new immunotherapy drugs approved for patients with advanced disease, bringing a new approach to this hard-to-treat cancer. Several other immunotherapy agents are also moving forward in clinical trials. In the past few years, scientists have found ways to disable the molecular … Read more
By Patrick Steele Elaine needs a caregiver? That’s outrageous. She is a very independent and courageous woman. But as her husband and partner, I had to step into this role when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When Elaine and I first met in 2005, we stayed up late, telling stories. She showed me the … Read more
The past two years have seen a surge of new treatments for blood cancers, such as lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. Research on the genetic flaws underlying specific cancer types has led to new precision drugs such as ibrutinib and idelalisib and new immunotherapy agents that are improving outcomes in many patients with difficult-to-treat forms … Read more
An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a drug that unleashes an immune system attack on cancer cells. Often made of antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors act on the immune system, therefore such drugs are known as immunotherapies. How do checkpoint inhibitors work? Checkpoint inhibitors seek to overcome one of cancer’s main defenses against an immune system attack. Immune … Read more