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
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
“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
When Clelia Lavoie, then 49, began experiencing abdominal pain in 2019, she had a feeling it was something serious despite dismissals from her doctor. Lavoie’s intuition was right. A colonoscopy led to a diagnosis of stage IV colorectal cancer that had metastasized to her thyroid, back, and liver. She needed surgery to remove part of … Read more
The first time Jackie Dunn tracked her husband Mike’s numbers, he was a high school basketball star and she was the team statistician. More than 40 years later, she was back at it — this time with far more on the line than a ballgame. The Dunns had temporarily relocated in the summer of 2024 … Read more
While planning her annual breast cancer fundraiser in Hull, Mass., Ellie Destito’s friends learned some surprising news. For the first time, their friend revealed that she was living with breast cancer herself. “They had no idea,” recalls Destito, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2008. Through the years, she was treated with … Read more
In March 2016, two months before joining Dana-Farber, Sara Menendez, LAT, ATC, attended LYNKED IN, an annual one-day conference hosted by Dana-Farber’s Lynch Syndrome Center. The event gave her an opportunity to meet colleagues and learn about treatment advances, screening guidelines, and prevention efforts for Lynch syndrome, an inherited and often underdiagnosed condition that increases … Read more
Roberta “Bert” Green is a woman with a full and busy life. When not driving across the country with her husband, Ralph, in their RV, she alternates between paddle boarding, walking, e-biking, and skiing with the changing seasons around her rural Vermont home. Retired after a long career as a school neuropsychologist, she also makes … Read more
Andrew Combes was early for his first appointment at Dana-Farber. He had traveled all the way from Tiny, Ontario, in Canada, and was eager to be seen to get a second opinion on his diagnosis of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. To pass the time on this beautiful mid-October day, he meandered … Read more
Kathy Giusti was driving in rush hour traffic one January day in 1996 when her doctor called and requested they meet the next morning about her recent blood tests. Alarmed, Giusti insisted on more details, and the doctor eventually shared his concerns that she may have multiple myeloma. Giusti’s response to this news was quick … Read more
Jim Omel, MD, helped many cancer patients during his long career as a family physician, and that has not changed since his own 1997 diagnosis with multiple myeloma. What has changed is the reach of his support. While Omel, 77, cared for primarily farming families near his Nebraska clinic during 25-plus years in practice, his … Read more
As she hopped off the bleachers onto the grass after a graduation ceremony, Elizabeth Zarrella felt an unfamiliar pain in her back. A visit to the emergency room a week later revealed the source of the pain and the reason for its severity: her vertebrae were so brittle that two of them had been compressed … Read more
The first time Jay Reese was diagnosed with colon cancer, he didn’t tell his preschool-aged children. After it came back decades later, he told them immediately — and then suggested they take action. Jay underwent genetic testing after his 2012 colon cancer recurrence which revealed he had Lynch syndrome, an inherited genetic condition which carries … Read 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
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
When Linda Solomon, a trained medical technologist, saw the results of her routine complete blood count in 2009, she knew it wasn’t good news. Solomon, then 61, was diagnosed with stage III multiple myeloma – and given three years to survive. Several rounds of chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants, and eight years later, Solomon is … Read more
Amy McHugh’s 4-year-old daughter, Emily Coughlin, was a typical kid – playful and inquisitive – until May 2009, when she started complaining of knee pain. After a visit to the pediatrician, and a misdiagnosis of Lyme disease, the family ended up at Boston Children’s Hospital, where they received a devastating diagnosis: Emily had high-risk neuroblastoma, … Read more
This story originally appeared on Offbeat Bride. By Jordan Kraft “Will you postpone the wedding until after your cancer is gone?” my friend asked the week I was re-diagnosed with lymphoma. My response was so feral it surprised even me: “Honey, come hell or high water, I am motherloving having this wedding, and you better … Read more
By Rich Rothman In September 2013, I had a bone marrow transplant that doctors advised was the only potential cure for a blood cancer known as MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome). Although we lived in New York City, we chose to have the transplant done at Dana Farber because we were impressed with everything we saw and … Read more
Elizabeth Larcom has six children, but it’s the youngest that she calls her “miracle baby” – and with good reason. In August 1997, the Army moved the Larcom family to Alaska with five kids under 12 and mom Elizabeth pregnant with the sixth. Soon after, husband and dad, Chuck, left for Army training in Louisiana. … Read more