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.”
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Glioblastoma Patient Marks Major Milestones in Treatment and Life | Dana-Farber
Dana-Farber scientist Gordon Freeman, PhD, and his colleagues played a major role in the development of some of these inhibitors. In the early 2000s, they discovered that many types of cancer cells carry PD-L1 on their surface as a way to hide from the immune system. That led pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs targeting PD-L1 and related proteins.
“This is a really different strategy,” Freeman says. “Don’t poison the cancer cell: Let the immune system directly kill it.”
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PD1 and Immunotherapy: What You Need to Know | Dana-Farber
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, she plans to be there cancer-free.
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CAR T-Cell Therapy Helps Young Hockey Fan Ice Pediatric Leukemia | Dana-Farber/Boston Children's
Self-care — the practice of allotting time to take care of yourself and keep up with your own needs — is an important way of keeping the mind and body healthy. It is important for patients with lung cancer to practice self-care, especially during COVID-19.
Here, Susanne Welsh Lobacki, LICSW, a clinical social worker at the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber, gives tips on how lung cancer patients can practice self-care.
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Self-Care Tips for Lung Cancer Patients
Join us for the EMBRACE Metastatic Breast Cancer Forum Series, a series of free online educational programs for patients, families, and loved ones. This series opens on October 17, 2020 and will continue throughout the coming months.
Opening Event: Welcome Session with Nancy Lin, MD, and Eric Winer, MD
October 17, 2020 | 10 - 10:45 a.m.
Dr. Lin and Dr. Winer will discuss new developments and promising areas of research in metastatic breast cancer at Dana-Farber and beyond.
For more information and to register, please visit http://ms.spr.ly/6186TQoow.
EVENTBRITE.COM
2020 EMBRACE Metastatic Breast Cancer Virtual Forum Series
Join Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund on September 25 for Revolutionary Developments in Women’s Cancers, a virtual presentation hosted by the Susan F. Smith Center Executive Council with WBZ-TV Anchor,
Lisa Hughes
To learn more, visit: http://ms.spr.ly/6187TQolF http://ms.spr.ly/6188TQol2
On Tuesday, October 13 from 6:30 – 8 p.m., week two of the Breast Cancer in Young Women Virtual Forum Series opens with an expert panel facilitated by Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, founder and director of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer. This panel of experts will present recent advances in the field of breast cancer and share advice for those currently receiving active treatment.
On Thursday, October 15, join us from 6:30 – 8 p.m. for an interactive discussion with Dana-Farber social workers about living with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will have the chance to share some of the challenges they have encountered and learn strategies for alleviating anxiety.
Click here for more information and to register.
http://ms.spr.ly/6186Txtcn
We are currently experiencing an interruption in our telephone and internet services at the Dana-Farber Merrimack Valley satellite. We are working urgently to restore these services and are hopeful that this will allow us to resume operations soon.
In the meantime, if you need to be in touch with your care team at Dana-Farber Merrimack Valley, please call 978-722-1958
Dana-Farber researchers have come up with a new angle on the emerging stratgey of killing cancer cells. They have created a novel peptide molecule that binds to a key control point in what’s known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). The UPS, a survival mechanism, enables cells to dispose of proteins which, if allowed to accumulate, cause toxic stress that kills cells. #Cancerblocking
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Novel Compound Blocks Cancer Cells’ Protein Disposal System | Dana-Farber
Is it Safe for Me or My Child to Get Cancer Vaccinations During COVID-19?
Read on: https://bit.ly/3liBA2S
October 1-7 is Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Week in Massachusetts. Dana-Farber patient Lynda Thomas and her wife, Ellen, are dedicated to raising awareness about the rarest and most aggressive form of breast cancer. The couple has successfully lobbied for Massachusetts to declare a state-wide awareness week for the past five years.
Read more about Lynda and Ellen's dedication to sharing information about IBC.
#inflammatorybreastcancer #breastcancer #breastcancerawarenessmonth
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Mom Spreads Awareness about Inflammatory Breast Cancer | Dana-Farber
Join Heather Parsons, MD, MPH and Ian Krop, MD, PhD, as they discuss advances in research and treatment for patients with HER2-positive MBC on October 17, 2020, 11 a.m. – Noon.
For more information and to register, please visit https://embraceforumseries-2020.eventbrite.com.
EVENTBRITE.COM
2020 EMBRACE Metastatic Breast Cancer Virtual Forum Series
Congrats to Dana-Farber's Coleman Lindsley, MD, PhD and Ilene Galinsky, NP, who are receiving awards from the Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation! Dr. Lindsley is receiving the Nobility in Science award and Galinsky is receiving the Compassionate Care award.
#MDSwalk2020
The start of Michael Murray's freshman year at Boston College was just a few short weeks away when he was faced with a shocking new reality: osteosarcoma, the bone cancer he spent nearly half his life fighting, had returned again and spread to his lung.
When young adults are diagnosed with cancer, many of them are actively experiencing major life changes already, like attending college or getting their first post-college job. Sometimes these milestones must come to a halt in the wake of a cancer diagnosis.
But Mike's care team at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's offered him a treatment plan that would allow him to receive the best therapies possible while still getting to be a "normal college kid."
“We’ve never left Dana-Farber without hope,” explains Tricia Turley, Scott’s wife. “We might not always get good news, but we know they’re always there for us.”
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Patient Facing a Rare Head and Neck Cancer Finds His Voice Again | Dana-Farber
The Zakim Center is committed to supporting you, even while our in-person group programming is paused due to COVID-19. To provide continued support and ensure the health and well-being of patients, caregivers, and staff, we offer a number of virtual programs. View the Center's online classes here.
http://ms.spr.ly/6188T4H5y
Our Parents Together support program will host Finding Social Support and Making It Work for You, a virtual forum for parents and primary caregivers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 7 – 8 p.m. focused on developing and maintaining social support. Please register in advance to get the Zoom link for this session, which will be co-led by the Jimmy Fund Clinic's pediatric social workers Kelsey Hamstead, LCSW, and Larissa Hewitt, LICSW.
Registration is Required: For more information email parentstogether@dfci.harvard.edu
https://www.facebook.com/events/346325543106496/
WED, OCT 28 AT 7:00 PM EDT
Finding Social Support and Making it Work for You
Join our Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient Panel on December 4 from 1 - 2 p.m., part of the EMBRACE Metastatic Breast Cancer Virtual Forum Series. Learn tips and strategies for coping with a new #metastaticbreastcancer diagnosis from women who have been living with #MBC. Panelists will share what they wish they had known when they were newly diagnosed, and their advice to new patients.
Register here: http://ms.spr.ly/6181pGYdX
For more information about the virtual forum series, please visit http://ms.spr.ly/6182pGYdk
It’s impossible for Jenn Thompson to forget the low moments of her experience with cancer — her diagnosis, her hair falling out, and the sense that she lost a piece of herself. But now, more than five years after completing treatment, Thompson can say that these aren’t the memories that have defined her.
“It wasn’t easy, but the love I received was absolutely profound, and you can’t experience something that beautiful unless you go through something tremendously hard,” she says.
Today, Thompson is using her experience to help others navigate their ways through cancer as a mentor in Dana-Farber’s SoulMates program.
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Patient in Remission From Breast Cancer Mentors Other Patients
The upcoming holiday season is going to look a lot different from years past. Large family gatherings should be exchanged for more intimate settings; experts recommend only celebrating with members of your household, as anything beyond that increases risk of COVID-19. (Household members are anyone you live with, whether you are related to them or not.)
“It’s important we’re able to practice self-compassion, and acknowledge this year isn’t going to be perfect,” says Carrie Wu, MD, a psychiatrist in the Psychosocial Oncology Program at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center. “We’re all doing the best we can, and despite our best efforts, things might not turn out the way we expected or hoped.”
While this holiday season might be a bit unorthodox, there are ways to still enjoy this time of year while remaining safe. Visit our insight blog to learn more about these safe alternatives.
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How to Approach the Holiday Season Amidst COVID-19 | Dana-Farber
Registration is now open for the Pan-Mass Challenge Winter Cycle. The event is set for January 30th at Fenway Park. There will be a live DJ and top cycling instructors, pending final approval from city and health officials. It's all to raise money for cancer research at Dana-Farber. Bikes will be properly spaced for social distancing so capacity is limited this year. But you can also take part by riding virtually at home. For more information, visit http://ms.spr.ly/6183py8qT.
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Pan-Mass Challenge Winter Cycle Registration Now Open
Weymouth-based Advanced Green Insulation has made a gift of over $32,000 to South Shore Health’s Breast Care Center, a licensed clinic within the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in clinical affiliation with South Shore Hospital.
Advanced Green Insulation performs services for new and existing homes and businesses throughout Massachusetts. The owners of Advanced Green Insulation, Israel Jesus Barroso and Kathy DoAmaral, started their company in 2012 and have been located in Weymouth for six years. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Barroso and DoAmaral decided to donate a portion of the company’s October profits to South Shore Health’s Breast Care Center.
“We are so very grateful and humbled by the generous donation made by Mr. Barosso and Ms. DoAmaral,” said Jennifer Croes, executive director of the Cancer Center. “The funds donated by Advanced Green Insulation will be used to support patient care services, operational expenses and the expansion of technological capabilities in imaging and diagnostic pathology.”
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South Shore Health’s Breast Care Center receives Advanced Green Insulation donation
We are now scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for Dana-Farber patients age 75 or older.
If you are in that group (or know someone who is), please schedule an appointment via Patient Gateway (http://ms.spr.ly/6180p0MqO).
If you need help scheduling your appointment, please call 857-215-3000, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This is currently only available to Dana-Farber patients who are age 75 or older.
We are now scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for Dana-Farber patients age 75 or older who are currently in active treatment, meaning you still have frequent appointments here on a weekly or monthly basis.
If you are in that group (or know someone who is), please schedule an appointment in Patient Gateway (http://ms.spr.ly/6186p0HNs). If you are not on Patient Gateway, call 857-215-3000, Monday-Friday to schedule.
Times are currently available for this week and next. Again, this is only for Dana-Farber patients who are age 75 or older and are also in active treatment at Dana-Farber.
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 extend survival in newly diagnosed patients with AML who were 75 years or older or had other medical conditions that made them poor candidates for intensive chemotherapy.
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Venetoclax Combination Approved for Older Patients with AML | Dana-Farber
A new “deep learning” form of artificial intelligence outperformed standard methods in identifying cancer patients with inherited DNA alterations that could increase their risk of developing cancer or improve their response to certain targeted cancer drugs.
Learn more about AI and cancer research: http://ms.spr.ly/6189pLuUf
Today, World Cancer Day, we reflect on our mission: a world without cancer.
This year we honor not only those affected by cancer, but also the healthcare professionals heroically responding through the COVID-19 pandemic.
