Cancer can make its way through the body by shapeshifting through even the narrowest places, like a skilled driver navigating traffic. It has a sly way of adapting to its environment by finding detours around every blockade clinicians place in its path. A study from the lab of Nilay Sethi, MD, PhD, in Dana-Farber’s Center … Read more
Pancreatic cancer has long been difficult to detect and treat. Dana-Farber experts in the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, however, are working to change that with research efforts in three key areas that are poised to advance early detection, early intervention, and treatment of the disease. They presented these topics for discussion with … Read more
Nolan Young has aspirations of a career in both the Air Force and FBI, and even at age 15 it’s easy to imagine him achieving these goals. After all, when you’ve already endured the rigors of chemotherapy, radiation, emergency surgeries, and a stem cell transplant for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) — all before high … Read more
Tammy Hshieh, MD, MPH, is the lead geriatrician for geriatric oncology at Dana-Farber, working with the programs for Older Adults with Hematologic Malignancy, Older Adults with Breast Cancer, and Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Cancers. As a physician-scientist, her research focuses on promoting healthier aging and improving cognition and function as well as understanding and preventing … 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
Jessica St. Laurent, MD, was sure something had gone wrong. The results of an experiment she’d run showed that the cancer cells she was studying had abnormally high levels of a specific collection of proteins of interest to her team. “I remember seeing the gradient and thinking, This can’t be right,” says St. Laurent, who … Read more
By Kim Clements-Johnson The views expressed by the author in this blog are her own. The scar runs like a thin, raspberry river from the source just below my breastbone, bending down and around my abdomen, hugging the left side of my belly button. Its path is imprecise and meandering. The crusty shell of dead … 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
As a record-setting high school runner, Colby Rochford was an anchorman — the guy teammates depended on to take the baton and sprint to victory. These days, while away at college, Rochford is still a young man in a hurry. The opponent now is T-cell lymphoma, and every third Monday, he dashes from class to … Read more
Viruses aren’t thought of as living beings. Rather, they are collections of genetic instructions that hijack the replication machinery of living cells to perpetuate themselves. A specific type of virus called a retrovirus does this by integrating its DNA into the infected cell’s DNA. This capability has proven to be useful in modern medicine. Retroviruses … 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
Gene therapy and immunotherapy are both types of treatment for cancer and other diseases. They represent different approaches to disease therapy, though there is some overlap. What is gene therapy? Gene therapy is a way of treating or preventing disease by altering the genetic instructions within an individual’s cells. Most diseases aren’t caused by a … Read more
With the Boston Red Sox having their best season in years and contending for the playoffs, crowds have been regularly filling Fenway Park to capacity this summer. For one small contingent of these baseball fans, the trips will prove especially meaningful regardless of what transpires on the field. This rotating group, mostly young children and … 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
Radioligand therapy is an innovative medicine that specifically targets cancer cells. Instead of using chemicals to kill the cancer, it uses radioactivity, a sub-atomic physical phenomenon that can damage cells. Several radioligand therapies, which also may be called radiopharmaceutical therapy or theranostics, are approved for the treatment of a range of cancers, including prostate cancer … 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
New approaches to treatment are improving outcomes for patients with aggressive prostate cancer, which is prostate cancer that has spread or is at higher risk of spreading. In addition, new tests are helping guide treatment choices as more treatment options become available. Therapies used to treat aggressive prostate cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and newer … Read more