Ben is a fun-loving 13 year-old who enjoys skateboarding and playing the drums. In January of 2006, Ben was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare cancer that is found in bones and soft tissue. He was 8 years old. Doctors diagnosed the disease after he started experiencing hip pain, which is unusual for a child(...)
Breast Cancer Patients: Lymph Nodes – Leave Them Alone?
Posted by admin | treatmentWhen most people think about breast cancer, they don’t often think about the small, pea-sized structures that dot the body and help fight infections and other foreign substances. But it’s top-of- mind for many patients who undergo surgery for breast cancer. Lymph nodes are sites for cancer spread, and certain nodes are removed during surgery(...)
Feb 9, 2011 2 comments
Science is Cool!
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedWhether it’s making a sticky, rubbery substance like Flubber, turning a clear solution blue, or figuring out how a normal cell turns into a cancer cell, it’s all science. Those of us at the Kimmel Cancer Center think science is cool, and we’re hoping, with the right introduction, young students will begin to think so(...)
Feb 8, 2011 1 comment
World Cancer Day
Posted by admin | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedCancer is now the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It crosses all boundaries, gender, ages, ethnicities and strikes both the wealthy and poor. Thus, it will take a global effort to reduce the burden of cancer on our societies. Stand Up to Cancer released the video below to ask(...)
Feb 4, 2011 1 comment
Cancer News Review
Posted by admin | ResearchThis month's Cancer News Review podcast with Kimmel Cancer Center director Bill Nelson begins with updates on the field of head and neck cancer in light of the encouraging news that actor Michael Douglas' cancer is in remission. Nelson says that there is an emerging story in oropharyngeal cancers (those that are in the back(...)
Jan 28, 2011 No comments
Students Offer Handmade Hope
Posted by Michelle Potter | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedThis post is written by Shaun Morris, Public Relations Intern, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center The Gerstell Academy varsity girls’ basketball team delivered 50 hand-painted Believe Mugs to cancer patients and family members in the Weinberg Building on January 5th. This is the first year that the students have delivered the mugs,(...)
Jan 20, 2011 No comments
Promise, Progress, and Hope for the Youngest Cancer Patients
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | ResearchIt is truly an exciting time in cancer discovery. Discoveries in cancer genetics, immunology, and cancer stem cells are leading us to new, personalized therapies that target the specific cells and cellular alterations that drive the cancer. For children, this represents a huge step forward, as this new generation of treatments will not be as(...)
Jan 18, 2011 5 comments
Pancreatic cancer
Posted by admin | Issues & Perspectives, ResearchThere are few cancers that are as tough to beat as pancreatic cancer. When it is found, the disease has usually spread, and only about 20 percent of newly-diagnosed patients are eligible for surgery. But if there is ever a time when there are high hopes for new ways to detect and treat it, the time is now. Scientists at Johns(...)
Jan 14, 2011 1 comment
Fatigue
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, SurvivorshipFive weeks into radiation, I decided that the hair on my legs had become so long that an intervention was necessary. Going somewhere to have my legs waxed was too overwhelming in my current state, and cutting myself while shaving seemed like a small risk, as I’d internalized my doctors’ advice about the compromised nature(...)
Jan 7, 2011
“New” Resolutions
Posted by Michelle Potter | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedIt’s the time of year when we think about New Year’s resolutions…typical ones might include losing weight, spending more time with family, quit smoking. But our Cancer Center nurses have given new meaning to the New Year’s theme – their recent trip to Guatemala to give their time and talents to help people build a new(...)
Jan 3, 2011 1 comment