The good news is that there is an ongoing 1.5 percent annual decline in cancer death rates. The more troubling news is that cancer does not affect all equally. Read Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson’s editorial in Cancer Today, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Issues & Perspectives
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
Posted by | Issues & Perspectives, treatmentIt’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, so we wanted to gather our best Kimmel Cancer Center resources for you. Learn more about cancer vaccines and other ways our experts are working to get the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer. Watch leading pancreatic cancer and immunology expert Elizabeth Jaffee, M.D., talk about new work from our […]
Do you qualify for Social Security disability as a cancer patient? 5 tests
Posted by | caregiving, Issues & Perspectives, treatment, UncategorizedSocial Security pays benefits for a medical condition that is expected to last for at least a year, or may result in death. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) supports the aged, blind or disabled who have little or no income, providing cash for basics like food, clothing and shelter. According to social workers at the Johns Hopkins […]
Historic cancer drug approval has roots at Johns Hopkins and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute laboratories and clinics
Posted by | Issues & PerspectivesBreaking news today as, for the first time, a drug has been FDA-approved for cancer based on disease genetics rather than type. Developed from 30 years of basic research at Johns Hopkins and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute, pembroluzimab now can be used for colon, pancreatic, stomach, ovarian and other cancers if genetic testing reveals defects in […]
Lung cancer immunotherapy options expand
Posted by | Issues & PerspectivesPatients and doctors received news this week of the FDA’s approval of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab in combination with platinum doublet chemotherapy as first-line therapy for all patients with non-small cell lung cancer, irrespective of patients’ tumor PD-L1 status. The new approval follows the FDA’s decision last November to approve pembrolizumab as a first-line therapy for some […]
Kimmel Cancer Center Joins Nation’s Cancer Centers in Supporting HPV Vaccination
Posted by | Issues & PerspectivesThe Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center joined all of the nation's cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute in endorsing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent cancers caused by the ubiquitous virus. HPV infections are known to cause most cervical, anal, oropharyngeal and other genital cancers. Vaccines are available to prevent infections of certain […]
Insights from Katie Couric, keynote speaker at A Woman’s Journey
Posted by | Issues & PerspectivesThis quote from Katie Couric's keynote speech at A Woman's Journey sums up the hard work of cancer scientists, clinicians, patients, families and friends.
Do You Have a Cancer Screening Buddy?
Posted by | Issues & PerspectivesI heard a story about actors Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks forming a colonoscopy slumber party of sorts. They get together at one of their homes the day of the bowel prep and bring in a caterer to make them broth and gelatin, play poker all night, and the next day they have […]
The Healing Power of Music
Posted by | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedI never thought I’d be exposed to such a wide variety of expert musicians and performers working as a communications coordinator in the Cancer Center. Through the Cancer Center’s Art of Healing Performing Arts Series, I have the exciting opportunity to work with high caliber musicians from the Peabody Institute, local ballet dancers, and even a […]
The True Age of Cancer is Different Than You Might Think
Posted by | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedI was listening to the radio as I was driving in my car, and the lyrics in the song struck me. It went something like this, “Cancer doesn’t discriminate or care if you’re just 38.” I thought to myself, “Well, yes it does.” Cancer has always been and remains a disease of aging. Perhaps the […]