After successfully donating stem cells to her brother, Drew, during his treatment for the blood disorder aplastic anemia, Sarah Montgomery was ready and willing to make the life-saving gesture again. When the call came to do so, however, she was forced to decline for a very understandable reason: Her own stem cell transplant. In the … Read more
New treatment approaches have increased the number of older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) eligible for a stem cell transplant. Now, Dana-Farber research has identified those that are most likely to benefit from one. In a prospective study involving patients age 60 to 75 with advanced MDS, investigators found that participants at high risk of … Read more
Rizwan Romee, MD, is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber and treats patients with advanced blood cancers such as leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. He is also the director of the Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Dana-Farber and principal investigator of the Romee Lab for NK Cell Gene Manipulation and Therapy. Why did you decide to … Read more
As head of a family that includes seven children and 12 grandchildren, Susan Voigt says she is used to putting other people first. When it comes to trailblazing multiple myeloma treatment, however, she is proudly out in front. A longtime Vermont resident, Voigt, 69, was the first person from her state to receive CAR T-cell … Read more
When Kevin Hoyle found out he was a match for a blood cancer patient in need of a stem cell transplant in 2015, he felt surprisingly uncomfortable — not from fear of the procedure, but because he didn’t feel he deserved the opportunity. “I’m just an ordinary guy,” he thought. “Why should I have the honor of being able to offer someone a possibly life-altering scenario?” … Read more
Tiffany “Tiff” Trant couldn’t help but smile. All three of her children were home, and the family was deciding on dinner and a group activity. They thought about working on a puzzle, sitting down for their reoccurring poker game, or just spending the night talking. These simple pleasures have gained new meaning ever since Trant … Read more
Due to COVID-19, Ava Girolimetti doesn’t know if she will be starting middle school this September in a classroom, on a computer screen, or a combination of both. But thanks to CAR T-cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), she plans to be there cancer-free. The rising sixth grader can make this claim as one … Read more
More than 40 years after a then-experimental bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia, Jessica Brilliant Keener is thriving — and giving back every day to the institutions that gave her a second chance at life. Aplastic anemia occurs when bone marrow needed to supply all the body’s blood cells produces too few of those required … Read more
The first time Bill Cronin Googled his own cancer diagnosis in 2016, his heart sank. He had Sézary syndrome, a rare and aggressive form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma — and staring back at him were countless articles predicting a negative prognosis. However, after receiving a stem-cell transplant at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Cronin is … Read more
This post originally appeared on Discoveries, the blog of Boston Children’s Hospital. A drug used for rheumatoid arthritis has moved a step closer to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a desperately needed new use. The drug, abatacept, has gained FDA breakthrough therapy designation for preventing acute, severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients receiving bone … Read more
Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare, often aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that involves white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which help protect the body from disease. It is named for its origins in the mantle zone — a ring of cells within the lymph nodes where B cells (a type of … Read more
Steve Kelley is the quintessential glass half-full guy. Still, he realizes his reaction to learning he had an extremely rare cancer known as central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma may seem unusual. A few weeks after his June 2018 diagnosis, Kelley, then 64, gathered his family and friends together. He didn’t want to focus negatively on … Read more
Since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the fall of 2017, a form of the powerful and promising therapy known as CAR T-cell therapy has been used to treat certain young patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have relapsed or didn’t respond to standard regimens. Today, researchers … Read more
Bone marrow transplantation, which was first developed in the 1970s, was conceived as a way of dealing with the effects of high-dose chemotherapy for leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. The large doses killed diseased blood cells throughout the body but also destroyed the bone marrow, birthplace of new blood cells. By transplanting bone marrow … Read more
Jerry Jalbert is always up for new adventures. He did not expect that non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) would be one of them, but with the help of CAR T-cell therapy that keeps his cancer at bay, the 73-year-old professional photographer-turned-baker-turned-forest checkpoint operator is continuing to enjoy life’s many journeys alongside his wife, Ethel. “We are not … 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
Barely a year apart in age, brothers Dave and Mike Winslow have always been close. So when Dave learned that he needed a allogeneic bone marrow transplant due to a blood cancer known as myelofibrosis, it was fitting — and fortuitous — that Mike was the perfect match to be his donor. This fall, most … Read more
As a fruit and vegetable farmer, Douglas Young measures his life’s work by the seasons. Since receiving a stem cell transplant for his rare blood cancer, he has been able to enjoy more harvests than he once thought possible — inspiring him to seek out the stranger responsible for saving his life. In spring 2019, … Read more
Lymphoma comes from a type of immune cell called a lymphocyte, which is important in helping your body fight infection. The two main types of lymphocytes are B lymphocytes (B-cell) and T lymphocytes (T-cell), and each has a slightly different function in the immune system. Each can also give rise to different lymphomas. Although they … Read more
For most of his life, Jim Calhoun never paid attention to college football; his football fandom started and ended with the New York Giants. This year, however, he’ll be closely following the team at Tulane University — in particular, the offensive lineman who saved his life. In 2017, Calhoun, now 45, was diagnosed with acute … Read more