This blog is part 3 of 4 of our "Gene" Fridays series on cancer genetics. To help people understand the complexity of cancer and the series of genetic events that lead to its formation, Dr. Bert Vogelstein built upon the encyclopedia analogy. “Each of us has an encyclopedia in our cells, and each page of that […]
personalized medicine
Gene Friday Series – No Two Cancers are the Same
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | precision medicineThis blog is part 2 of 4 of our "Gene" Fridays series on cancer genetics. Pancreas cancer was one of the first cancer genomes Dr. Bert Vogelstein and team deciphered. For this study, the scientists examined 24 pancreas cancers and determined the sequence of all of the genes in these cancers. On average, they found just 50 […]
Jul 12, 2013 No comments
“Gene” Friday Series: Understanding Cancer Genetics
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | precision medicineThis blog is part 1 of 4 of our "Gene" Fridays series on cancer genetics. There is no one better suited to explain the intricacies of cancer genetics than Dr. Bert Vogelstein. He and his team completed the lion’s share of the work that proved that cancer is a genetic disease caused by an accumulation […]
Jul 5, 2013 2 comments
Waiting Room Observations
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | precision medicineOver the last thirty years, about every decade I’ve found myself in a cancer center waiting room--first in 1984 with my husband, in 1999 with my father, and now this year with my mother. Last week, I accompanied my mother on her regular visit. It was a busy day in the clinic, and as I […]
Oct 9, 2012 1 comment
Lung Cancer: Still the Top Cancer Killer
Posted by admin | precision medicine, treatmentRecent news of the full results of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) published in the New England Journal of Medicine underscores the heavy toll that lung cancer takes on many lives. It's still the deadliest of all cancers. For Phyllis Curtis, who had enrolled in the trial at Johns Hopkins, the trial and screening […]
Jun 30, 2011 No comments
Getting Personal About Personalized Cancer Medicine
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | Issues & Perspectives, Patient Stories, precision medicineI got into this business 25 years ago, when my husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. I was a newlywed, and at 22-years-old, I faced the prospect of being a widow. The evening we learned the shocking news, I remember leaving the hospital to return home. I was numb with fear. I went into our […]
Dec 17, 2010 2 comments