Prostate Cancer Risk and Screening: Five Things You Need to Know  

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. When found early, before it has spread, patients can do extremely well.  However, prostate cancer risks vary due to genetics, health care access, socioeconomics, and environmental exposures. Some groups have higher risks and worse outcomes. For example:  The best way to improve your chances of … Read more

Breast Cancer Disparities: What Is Dana-Farber Doing to Address Them?  

Overall survival of breast cancer has improved for everyone in the U.S. in recent years, but the pace isn’t the same for all groups of people. Some groups still experience dramatic disparities.   For example, according to the American Cancer Society:  Dana-Farber wants to close these gaps so that everyone benefits equally from high-quality care and … Read more

Dana-Farber’s Focus on Equity in Breast Cancer Clinical Research 

Clinical trials assess new medicines to ensure they are safe and effective and to find out which patients they are most likely to benefit.   However, clinical trials often enroll few people of color for a constellation of reasons related to historical marginalization of certain groups. Systemic marginalization can result in lower levels of income, fewer … Read more

Science Behind Targeted Drug for Pediatric Brain Cancer Has Dana-Farber Roots 

Dana-Farber researcher Charles Stiles, PhD, remembers the call. It was 2008 and a colleague phoned from a conference to deliver the news. Two separate research teams had discovered a genetic driver for the most common of childhood brain tumors called pediatric low-grade glioma. The problem of finding a genetic target to improve treatment for this … Read more

Improving Everything: Movement and Exercise Helped Breast Cancer Patient Restore Her Mobility and More

 When Sandra Noack returned home from a visit to Bogota, Colombia, to visit her family, there was a letter waiting for her. It was a leaflet sent via the Massachusetts Department of Public Health describing a clinical trial at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for Latina and Hispanic breast cancer survivors.  The trial didn’t involve any medicine. … Read more

Simone Ledward-Boseman Shares Advice with Dana-Farber Caregivers and Patients 

Simone Ledward-Boseman has many roles: She’s a writer, artist, and singer. And for some time, she was a caregiver to her late husband, Chadwick Boseman, the actor known for playing Black Panther and groundbreaking figures like James Brown and Jackie Robinson. These days, Ledward-Boseman has added more titles to her list: activist and advocate.  “I’m … Read more

Cervical Cancer Disparities: What to Know and Tips for Prevention 

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called HPV (human papilloma virus) that is spread through sexual contact. For many people, the virus is cleared by the immune system. But if it isn’t, it can develop into cancer.   The virus can be detected through HPV screening that inspects a sample of cervical tissue for the … Read more

Boston Marathon Run is Mother-Daughter Moment for Breast and Uterine Cancer Survivor 

Runners call it Heartbreak Hill, but for Michelle O’Brien the long, rising stretch of pavement that crosses the 20-mile point of the Boston Marathon® route represents the top of the mountain.   Just over three years after being diagnosed in back-to-back months with two unrelated cancers — invasive breast cancer in December 2020, and then stage … Read more

What’s the Latest Research in Lynch Syndrome?  

Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition that increases an individual’s risk for certain types of cancer. It’s caused by a mutation in any of five specific genes: MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2, and EPCAM.   People born with a mutation in one or more of these genes have a significantly increased risk of developing colorectal or uterine cancer and a somewhat … Read more

Patient with Breast Cancer Lives Her Best Life with the Help of a Team 

Thirteen years after Vici Robinson was treated for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, she began experiencing shortness of breath. Her local physicians in New Hampshire determined her symptoms came from liquid that was filling her lung.  Then came the shocking news that this was caused by a breast cancer recurrence which had metastasized.  At 81, Robinson … Read more

Metastatic Breast Cancer Survivor Proves Her Endurance at NYC Marathon 

When Meghan MacDonald visited her primary care provider in the fall of 2022 to get a lump in her breast examined, they confirmed her suspicion that it was just an inflamed cyst. Relieved, MacDonald began a course of antibiotics, but when the lump didn’t go away, her doctor ordered a mammogram, and when the results … Read more

Young Mother with Lynch Syndrome Doing Well on Immunotherapy 

For a while, Stephanie Dobson attributed her gastrointestinal issues to her pregnancy. It was her second, a girl born in May 2023, a baby sister to her son. But when the symptoms persisted for the 34-year-old mother, she raised the issue with her primary care provider.   She was encouraged to see a gastroenterologist. On an … Read more

Bispecific Antibody Therapy for Lymphoma: What You Need to Know   

Bispecific antibody therapies are a type of immunotherapy for patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These therapies provide a valuable new option for patients.  There are many standard therapies that are monoclonal antibodies. These therapies treat cancer by binding to a marker on cancer cells and rallying the immune system to destroy them.  Bispecific antibodies are … Read more