Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer has received mixed reviews from different organizations, says William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Today, the United States Preventive Services Task Force has posted draft recommendations for prostate screening that encourage men ages 55 - 69 to make individual decisions about […]
Prevention/Screening
Kimmel Cancer Center Director Moderates AACR Webinar on Cancer Screening Guidelines
Posted by | Prevention/ScreeningWhat cancer screenings do I need and when? If this answer isn't clear to you, listen to Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson moderate a webinar on "Making Sense of Cancer Screening Guidelines," hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research and Cancer Today magazine. Nelson and his co-panelists will summarize the guidelines and provide their […]
I’m a former smoker. Is there a way to prevent lung cancer now?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening“The best way to prevent lung cancer now is to make sure you're not currently smoking,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D. Hales, who is a radiation oncologist at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus, notes that smoking, even as late as when you’ve had a lung cancer diagnosis, can […]
How does diet affect lung cancer risk or treatment? Do you have a nutritionist on my care team?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening, treatment“When I meet with patients, I tell them that there are three critical parts to their therapy. The first is local therapy, such as surgery or radiation. The second is chemotherapy, or systemic therapy. And the third is their overall well-being, such as nutrition,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D. Hales, a radiation oncologist at the […]
How long does it take to test and see test results about lung cancer mutations?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening“Molecular profiling of a tumor has really taken off over the last few years, and a few years ago, it could take several weeks for these results to come back. We can now test for the changes we can target in a lung tumor within four to five days here at Hopkins,” says Russell K. […]
How do you determine what stage of cancer I have?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening“Staging is a critical part of therapy,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We don’t want to focus only on a tumor in the chest, for example, if there’s something growing in another area of the body. That’s why we fully […]
I was diagnosed with restrictive lung disease. My mother and my cat died of lung cancer. I’m a non-smoker but worried about environmental issues. How likely is it that this will become lung cancer, and what would the treatment be?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening, Uncategorized“It's not just smoking that leads to lung cancer,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D. “ We know that environmental exposures and underlying lung disease can increase the likelihood of lung cancer. Unfortunately, in patients with restrictive lung disease, we don't have any information to show that screening those patients will increase the likelihood of finding […]
What is ground glass opacity on the lung? Is it likely to be cancer and how do you determine whether it is or not?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening“Not everything that arises in the lung is cancer,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D., a radiation oncologist, at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “A nodule in the lung can be from infection, irritation, or inflammation. It can be from other diseases, unrelated to cancer at all.” Hales notes […]
A Conversation about Cancer
Posted by | precision medicine, Prevention/Screening, Research, UncategorizedOn Nov. 3, 2015, a capacity crowd of more than 250 Johns Hopkins leaders, faculty, staff, students, donors, and other guests filled the Albert H. Owens Auditorium at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to honor the philanthropy of Sidney Kimmel for advancing cancer discovery and care. Hundreds more watched via video streaming as Kimmel […]
Doctors Disagree on Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations
Posted by | Prevention/ScreeningYesterday's announcement from the United States Preventive Services Task Force of its final recommendations on breast cancer screenings was met with disagreement from many doctors who specialize in breast imaging. Dr. Susan Harvey, director of Breast Imaging at Johns Hopkins joined others who said the announcement will not change their own practices. "What this controversy […]