--This blog post celebrates the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. When we launched the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy last March, we committed to accelerate the progress of immunotherapies in a real and measurable way, taking advantage of its ability to produce unprecedented and durable cancer regressions. We(...)
treatment
How do experts assess ‘chemo brain’?
Posted by | treatment*The information in this blog post is based on the webinar, “Understanding Cancer-related Cognitive Impairment,” hosted by the Kimmel Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Program. Q: What type of cognitive assessments can be done for cancer patients undergoing treatment or who have completed treatment who complain about ‘chemo brain’? A: Tracy Vannorsdall, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Johns Hopkins(...)
8 Tips for Improving Cognition During and After Cancer Treatment
Posted by | Survivorship, treatment*The information in this blog post is based on the webinar, “Understanding Cancer-related Cognitive Impairment,” hosted by the Kimmel Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Program. Q: What can I do to improve my cognition during and after cancer treatment? A: Use areas of cognitive strength to compensate for any weaknesses, advises Tracy Vannorsdall, PhD, a neuropsychologist at(...)
Immunotherapy drug staves off lung cancer better than chemo in some newly treated patients
Posted by | treatmentIn a head-to-head comparison between the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab and standard chemotherapy as a first-line therapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer, patients taking pembrolizumab had a 50 percent greater drop in the risk of death or disease progression and a four-month greater increase in progression-free survival compared with those who took chemotherapy. A report on(...)
Do you have endocrinologists on the lung cancer team?
Posted by | treatmentEndocrinologists, or hormone doctors, are on your lung cancer treatment team “if it's clinically appropriate for them to be a part of it,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. Hales notes that “Endocrinologists often look at hormone levels, and we use(...)
What side effects can lung cancer radiation cause?
Posted by | treatmentMany lung cancer patients are concerned about the side effects lung cancer radiation can cause, such as heart or kidney damage, or fertility problems, says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “Any therapy can cause short-term or long-term problems, and side effects,”(...)
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(...)
Are there any long term effects or dangers from radiation for lung cancer?
Posted by | Survivorship, treatment“Absolutely, yes. All of our therapies, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy for lung cancer come with risks and benefits,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We use those therapies only after careful evaluation of the risks of the therapy, versus(...)
Is it important to watch your vitamin levels during cancer treatment?
Posted by | treatment“Certainly, it’s never optimal to have deficiencies in vitamin levels,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We try to make sure that our patients are healthy, and taking a multivitamin every day.” However, Hales warns against lung cancer patients taking high(...)
My mother has recently had a lobectomy. She’s faced with the choice of standard care or a clinical trial. What should she consider before making her choice?
Posted by | treatmentRadiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus notes that clinical trials are treatments that are usually done at cancer centers with researchers, like Hopkins. “Clinical trials take an existing therapy, and add to it an investigational therapy, or give an investigational therapy altogether,”(...)