cancer

Brianna Garrison, oncology social worker

Do you have resources to deal with cancer that go beyond understanding treatment? Patients like me certainly spend a lot of time talking about treatments, and research into better treatments, which makes a lot of sense. But that’s just part of the cancer journey.[read more]

cancer/shutterstock

Lung cancer causes 160,000 deaths each year – more than the next four cancers combined. Diagnostic and treatment options have improved greatly in the past decade and continue to advance at a rapid rate. Among the most important advances have been: Learning that chemotherapy combinations of a platinum-containing drug produce substantial improvements in tumor shrinkage, quality of life and extension of life. Second, these combinations, when added to surgery and/ or radiation for early stage disease, improve survival and increase cure rates.[read more]

Empowered cancer patient / shutterstock

Empowered patients and family members want to have a consultation with their doctor, no longer accepting an “edict” telling them “this is what I am going to do.” Thankfully, people want to understand their situation and measure it against available options. Facilitating that is Patient Power’s mission.[read more]

Precision medicine

The connection between genetic, molecular analysis and therapy is closing fast. My advice to a new patient is to strongly request such an analysis of their cancer situation and to inquire whether there are therapies, even in clinical trials, that line up with their specific genetic situation.[read more]

A systematic comparison of metastatic breast cancer cells to healthy breast cells revealed dramatic differences between the two cell lines in their mechanics, migration, oxygen response, protein production, and ability to stick to surfaces.[read more]

healthcarecosts/shutterstock

The recent news that thousands of seniors with cancer are being denied treatment with expensive chemotherapy drugs as a result of sequestration-mandated budget cuts raises the question of whether other patients are being equally harmed, but less visibly.[read more]

lungcancer/shutterstock

Most patients found to have lung cancer die within a year largely because their tumor has already spread, making treatment difficult. Now there is real reason to believe that lung cancer can be detected early and with it witness an improvement in cure. Given that 160,000 Americans die each year - more than the next four cancers combined – early diagnosis followed by curative treatment would be a major advance.[read more]

healthcare and sequestration

The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) seeks to provide accessible affordable care to more Americans. However, the ripple effects of the sequestration (to Medicare patients undergoing cancer treatments) are in direct contrast to these goals and principles.[read more]

lungcancer/shutterstock

There has been some remarkable progress in recent years in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. 160,000 Americans die annually from lung cancer making it second only to heart disease as a cause of death and slightly more than the next four cancers combined – breast, colon, pancreas and prostate. This is largely because lung cancer is usually discovered only after it has spread.[read more]

Recently Patient Power Founder Andrew Schorr, a two time cancer survivor himself and on the advisory board of Healthworks Collective, interviewed two experts about PET MR, its utility, benefits, and future use.[read more]

cancer/shutterstock

The headlines each day bring more good news about progress in treating blood cancers. We now know more than ever before about leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other disorders. There used to be a fairly standard approach to treatment, but that’s changed too. There are many subtypes and new therapies, new drug combinations, various clinical trial options and even uses of transplant vary depending upon the individual patient situation. One thing has not changed however: Receiving an accurate diagnosis at the start is absolutely critical.[read more]

The good news is there is lots to talk about and clearly, with some cancers – unfortunately, not all – people are living longer and better. But it takes work and some sophistication to cut through the clutter of old information and wrong or misleading information.[read more]