Jonathan Owens says he was fortunate to get a second chance at life. By spreading the word, he hopes others won’t need similar luck. Owens had the same primary care physician for nearly 20 years, and was diligent about keeping himself in shape, as he reached his 50th birthday. Like many of his similarly aged … Read more
Dawn MacKerron realizes it might sound strange to say that getting hit in the eye with a basketball was a blessing. But an accident on the court helped inform treatment for a rare form of lymphoma and participation in a clinical trial at Dana-Farber that set her on a cancer-free path. It all started when … Read more
Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy aimed at enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells, or to protect against certain forms of cancer caused by viruses. Vaccine can help prevent some cancers There are two approved preventive vaccines directed against cancer-causing viruses. Vaccines against cancer-causing or other infectious microbes typically … Read more
Thanks to developments in precision medicine, some adult cancers are now treated with designer drugs that target the genetic mutations that caused them. But most children with cancer have not reaped the same benefits. Unlike adult cancers, childhood cancers carry few genetic mutations. And the mutations these tumors do have are typically harder to make … Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a novel targeted drug to treat acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in older patients, a segment of the blood cancer population in dire need of improved therapies. In a phase 3 clinical trial, researchers showed that the oral drug, venetoclax (or Venclexta), when given along with azacitidine, could … Read more
As a multi-sport athlete growing up, Allison Rebello loved being part of a team. Today, living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), she credits three teams for helping her stay active and optimistic in the face of an incurable but treatable disease. Rebello’s care team at Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber/Brigham and … Read more
OK Eason doesn’t mind jokes about his unique first name, especially lately. Healthy and thriving more than 30 months after a massive tumor was found in his brain, Eason takes pleasure in telling people that he is more than just “O.K.” Eason, 69, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in February 2018. He had surgery immediately, … Read more
Tim O’Neill likes to keep moving — whether on his boat, his motorcycle, in his running shoes, or while steering an RV across 47 states. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has failed to stop him from these pursuits, and he’s determined not to let a pandemic do so either. “I’m more careful these days because of … Read more
Pancreatic cancer isn’t as common as some other cancers, but it is somewhat renowned for being difficult to treat. Symptoms usually don’t show up until the cancer has grown to an advanced stage, but now, more than ever, patients with pancreatic cancer have good reason to be optimistic about their futures due to advances researchers … Read more
Strength training is a type of exercise in which one uses resistance to force the muscles to contract to build strength. Resistance for strengthening can come from a person’s own body weight or from gym equipment. We spoke to Nancy Campbell, MS, an exercise physiologist at Dana-Farber’s Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, who … Read more
In golf, the best shot isn’t always the one that goes the furthest. Sometimes, a golfer should “lay up,” or play conservatively. Exchanging power for precision and avoiding potential hazards can set them up for what’s next. Avid golfer Evan Cornelius, 20, understands this better than most. So when it came time for him to … Read more
As a federal probation officer, Ryan Fox brings empathy to her role working with prisoners and their families. Knowing there is often more to a case than meets the eye, she partners with lawyers, judges, and others in the court system to give inmates a fresh start and an opportunity to tell their stories. She’s … Read more
There was a time when Bradley McGregor, MD, had what many would consider an unusual morning routine for an oncologist. Getting ready for work included putting on nearly 60 pounds of body armor, donning a tactical helmet, and grabbing his assault rifle before heading out the door. His commute took him from an American compound, … Read more
In 1992, when he launched his own Dana-Farber laboratory, William G. Kaelin, Jr, MD, was well-positioned to make potentially landmark discoveries. As a physician, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of human diseases, including rare genetic conditions like von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, which is associated with an elevated risk of benign and malignant tumors, particularly in the kidney. … Read more
Medically reviewed by Andrew Lane, MD, PhD Dana-Farber scientists had a perfectly reasonable theory of why acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) sometimes become resistant to the targeted drug tagraxofusp. Cancer, however, can flout even the best theories. An account of the discovery of the true source of resistance to … Read more
In May 2018, Tyler Goodwin underwent CAR T-cell therapy for follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). While he was having preparatory chemotherapy for the procedure, a surprise visitor to his hospital bedside provided a powerful reminder of why this promising new cancer treatment was so important to him. “It was my daughter Theresa, all made up for … Read more
In just over a year, the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in adult patients has undergone something of a revolution. Since mid-2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved nine new targeted therapies for the disease, in contrast to none during the previous 12 years. The approvals amount to a “game-changer for how … Read more
Kaitlyn Zonfrelli thought she was too young to have breast cancer, even though she showed a common sign of the disease. Now that she’s in treatment, she wants to spread the word: Don’t ignore the signs, no matter what. Two years ago, when she was 26, Zonfrelli felt a lump on her breast during a … Read more
On the strength of the results of a major international clinical trial, there is now a new standard of care for patients with an advanced form of ovarian cancer who have responded to initial chemotherapy. The trial, dubbed SOLO-1, found that these patients – newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer that carries a mutation in the … Read more
Marking the first time an immunotherapy agent has been approved for the treatment of a form of breast cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of the drug atezolizumab in combination with the chemotherapy drug nab-paclitaxel for patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer. The approval was granted on an accelerated basis … Read more