Fundraiser, Marilyn Monroe Impersonator, Snow Queen: Breast Cancer Patient Does It All 

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

From Staff Member to Empowered Patient: A Journey with Lynch Syndrome 

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

Grandmother Continues Life of Adventure on Endometrial Cancer Clinical Trial  

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

Living with Multiple Myeloma, Doctor Becomes Powerful Resource and Patient Advocate 

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

Lynch Syndrome Center Helps Family Stay Vigilant — and Grow 

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

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

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

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #6: Then and Now with Multiple Myeloma Patient Linda Solomon

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

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #4: Then and Now with Neuroblastoma Patient Emily Coughlin

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

Cancer Patient Creates ‘Living Art’ for Her Wedding Day

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

Battling Cancer: Restructuring and Enjoying Your New Life

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

Pregnant with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, This Mom Found Care and Comfort at Dana-Farber

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

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #3: Then and Now with Male Breast Cancer Survivor Mike Johnston

When Mike Johnston felt a lump in his chest in 2009, he assumed it was a side effect of a high blood pressure medication. But after a routine doctor’s visit, followed by a mammogram and ultrasound, Johnston’s diagnosis was confirmed: He had male breast cancer. Only 2,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast … Read more

Attacking A Weak Point in Pancreatic Cancer’s Defense

In the fall of 2015, at the age of 44 – young for a person to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – Doron Broman was stunned to learn he had a large tumor on his pancreas that had metastasized to the liver. Facing only months to live, Broman would find himself in the right place … Read more

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #2: Then and Now with Leukemia Survivor Ben Blaisdell

Ben Blaisdell was a popular 16-year-old when he started experiencing uncharacteristic chills, which led to an anemia diagnosis and, soon after, the surprising news that he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The two-year treatment was tough on him and his entire family, but Blaisdell says that he wouldn’t change his cancer diagnosis even if he … Read more