Cancer Podcasts from Dana-Farber

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 […] The post Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #6: Then and Now with Multiple Myeloma Patient Linda Solomon appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Gabby Spear, a young, active mom, had never noticed a lump or pain before suddenly finding her breast cancer in November 2013, when she was 38. She was shocked. But, with two young daughters, there wasn’t much time to adjust to her new normal. In the latest episode of Voices: Then […] The post Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #5: Then and Now with Breast Cancer Survivor Gabby Spear appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Palliative care is an often misunderstood specialty, focused on providing support and pain management strategies to cancer patients throughout all stages of their illness. This approach, which can be blended into curative cancer therapy, focuses on care for the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. Read More: Oncology and Palliative […] The post Cancer Mythbusters Episode #6 – Is Palliative Care Only for End-of-Life Patients? appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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 […] The post Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #4: Then and Now with Neuroblastoma Patient Emily Coughlin appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Clinical trials are scientific studies in which new treatments – drugs, diagnostic procedures, and other therapies – are tested to determine if they are safe and effective for patients. Nearly all cancer drugs in use today were tested and made available to patients through clinical trials, making them a crucial component of […] The post Cancer Mythbusters Episode #5: Cancer Clinical Trials appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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 […] The post Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #3: Then and Now with Male Breast Cancer Survivor Mike Johnston appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

A cancer diagnosis can inspire many questions, one of the most common being, “How did I get this disease?” There are a host of different causes, and in many cases, researchers do not have a definitive answer. But is it possible for cancer to spread from person to person? In […] The post Cancer Mythbusters Episode #4: Is Cancer Contagious? appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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 […] The post Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #2: Then and Now with Leukemia Survivor Ben Blaisdell appeared first on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Despite the fact that cancer survivorship is on the rise, it may seem that cancer is everywhere — and that there’s nothing we can do about it. But are we really powerless to stop certain cancers from coming our way? Or, at least, to lessen the chances of developing those […]

Most breast lumps are not cancer. But many myths persist about the relationship between the two – including whether a woman can tell if a lump is cancer by the way it feels, and whether a small lump is less likely to be cancer than a large lump. With the help of Beth Overmoyer, MD, director of the inflammatory breast cancer program at Dana-Farber’s Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers, we debunk these myths and other common questions about breast lumps and cancer. Hear the discussion...

Treatment ends. And you’re home free. That’s what many friends and family think. But cancer patients know that the time after your treatment ends can be unsettling. While the physical and logistical challenges of managing chemotherapy, radiation or surgery may be behind you, the prospect of dealing with cancer without the safety net of weekly, or even daily, contact with your care team can be daunting. Breast cancer survivors Amy Atwood and Julie Mizraji talk about how they navigated...

Stupid things. We all say them. And cancer patients have heard them all -- from the insensitive to the absurd, from nutrition tips to fertility advice, and just about everything in between. While patients can laugh (hopefully) at the remarks in hindsight, when they’re first said, they can cut deep, making patients question their decisions. In this episode of Beyond Cancer, Kim Douglass and Becky Sail discuss the stupid things they’ve heard, and more importantly, how they dealt with those...

Brain tumors can be among the most challenging cancers to treat. The blood-brain barrier, a natural defense mechanism that shields the brain from harm, can also prevent cancer treatments from reaching tumors. “It can be difficult to get treatments effectively into the brain,” says David Reardon, MD, clinical director of Dana-Farber’s Center for Neuro-Oncology. However, he adds that new immunotherapy treatments may be able to get through the blood-brain barrier and effectively reach tumors....

Prostate cancer affects 230,000 men each year. Although diagnoses are increasing worldwide, most people die with prostate cancer and not of prostate cancer, according to Mark Pomerantz, MD, a medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Pomerantz discusses genetics, risk factors, and the controversy surrounding the PSA test, a test that can detect levels of prostate-specific antigen in the body. Although PSA...

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women, but lung cancer research is advancing rapidly and treatments are improving at an astonishing pace. “Lung cancer research has changed so much today that it’s even hard to estimate what we’re going to be doing in the future,” says Geoffrey Oxnard, MD, of Dana-Farber’s Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Oxnard discusses these new developments, including targeted therapies and...

If you’re 69 and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, what do you do? For John Barrett, the answer was easy: become a certified physical trainer. But as Barrett and Nancy Campbell, exercise physiologist at Dana-Farber, both point out, you don’t need to be an exercise zealot to incorporate exercise into your life. “Exercise needs to be a lifestyle, not an event,” Barrett says. For cancer patients in particular, it’s about working exercise into the fabric of your everyday life. That’s not...

It was a warm day in November 2013 when Gabby Spear found out she had breast cancer. But even in the midst of the difficult news, her responsibilities as a mom, wife, professional, and community member remained; she knew she still had to pick up her two daughters and make it to temple service later that night. “That was the first time I realized that life doesn’t stop because of a cancer diagnosis,” says Spear, whose daughters were 6 and 3 at the time. Like Spear, fellow breast cancer...

Advances in genetic research may improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women’s cancers. “More genes are being found and fewer families are having to wonder if there is something genetic that may increase their risk, or future generations’ risk, of developing cancer,” says Judy Garber, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber and a leader in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode,...

Tara Shuman didn’t necessarily set out to be a blogger, let alone a book author. Yet in the throes of a cancer diagnosis she turned to writing as an outlet. Abby Morgan also turned to blogging. A painter since an early age, and an art teacher, writing carried less pressure than painting. “I don’t want everything that I do – any creative outlet I do – to have to be about cancer. I don’t want it to take over my identity,” Morgan says. “But it is hard to not have it be a part of the things...

As with many cancers, screening is a crucial step in preventing colorectal cancer. In fact, colorectal cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer if it is found early. “There are many different ways we can prevent colorectal cancer, ranging from medical tests to dietary and lifestyle behaviors, to taking certain medications,” says Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, director of clinical research for Dana-Farber’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Center. “But if I had to come down on one, important factor...