Cancer

We all know that healthy and supportive relationships are important for maintaining good mental health and a positive attitude. But did you know having a satisfying romantic relationship could also improve the physical health of breast cancer survivors and keep them from redeveloping the disease? Of course, it stands to reason that healthy and happy

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 40 million Americans have lost their jobs. With the loss of jobs, comes the loss of health insurance. For cancer patients, maintaining your health insurance is essential. The good news is, you probably have some options to keep your coverage or get new coverage. Keeping Your Coverage

At its very core – cancer is a disease caused by DNA errors. Within tumour cell DNA, there are a multitude of mutations that guide growth and make it difficult for the body to repair or destroy the tumour. But this doesn’t stop the body’s immune system from trying. This contest between the immune system

31 May – Shielding advice updated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 29 May – UK nations begin to ease lockdown restrictions 28 May – UK nations launch test and trace systems  27 April – NHS campaign urges people to get help if they need it 21 April – Urgent cancer referrals fall across the

We know that it has been harder for people to exercise over these last several weeks. Christina Lombardi, DPT PT has put together easy exercises to get you moving at home! Each Wednesday for the next several weeks we will share these exercises with you. Each exercise includes descriptive information and a video to demonstrate

After being dismissed by doctors for months, a 35-year-old mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then she discovered that they had diagnosed the stage it was in incorrectly. Thankfully, her story has a happy ending. It all started when Elizabeth Vines felt a pea-sized lump in her breast, near her armpit. She brought it up

Across the United States, women of color still have overall poorer breast cancer outcomes than white women. Black women are more likely than white women to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (which is aggressive and has limited treatment options) and are more likely to be diagnosed late, after the cancer has already begun to

Victoria is a PhD student who normally works on lung cancer research, but since the pandemic, has returned to the frontline as a doctor at the The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. COVID-19 has placed a huge strain on cancer services in the UK.   It’s been felt in all areas of cancer care –

White blood cell. Credit: EM Unit Malaria drug used to treat glioblastoma  One of the most aggressive types of brain cancer could be treated with an already approved malaria drug. Lumefantrine has been proposed in combination with the current  care/treatments – to treat patients with glioblastoma.  This type of brain cancer has a poor survival

Eliza Paris is only 27 years old and has already been through a series of health crises that have almost taken her life. Paris was diagnosed with stage IV appendix cancer in 2018, when she was 25. She underwent aggressive treatment, including removal of her appendix, gallbladder, spleen, ovaries, and part of her colon, as

Saima was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018, when she was 29. We caught up with people living with cancer across the country, to find out how the coronavirus pandemic has been affecting them and their families.  Paul: “I understand the reasons for the delay and I know I’m in a queue, but things feel uncertain”  Paul

Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, was introduced to me as a child by my mom. She was a watercolor artist at the time, so naturally she attempted to teach me how to sketch. However, she soon realized that I was more interested in folding the paper in front of me instead of drawing

Just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic reached the states, 42-year-old Lerine Liu came to the United States from Singapore with expectations of a better life. She had just gotten out of a four-year relationship and landed a job in fashion merchandising in New York. She settled down in an apartment in New Jersey

We know that it has been harder for people to exercise over these last several weeks. Christina Lombardi, DPT PT has put together easy exercises to get you moving at home! Each Wednesday for the next several weeks we will share these exercises with you. Each exercise includes descriptive information and a video to demonstrate

If you love Disney movies, it probably won’t come as much of a shock to you that Disney films have emotionally healing properties. But you might be surprised to learn that somebody actually took the time to conduct a study that showed watching Disney movies improved quality of life for chemotherapy patients. That’s right; you

When my quarantine began, I knew I’d be entering a new “normal.” I knew I’d have to leave my University (Penn) and my plans for the final months of junior year behind. I knew it could be months, even a year before I could return, and that life now ran on this virus’s clock. So

When Daniel Hove was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, family and friends rallied to help the Air Force veteran-turned-assistant fire chief navigate this difficult time. But nobody was more supportive than Daniel’s loyal dog, Gunner, an 11-year-old lab who rarely left his owner’s side. Photos of Daniel’s final years show the loyal pooch snuggling beside his

We know that it has been harder for people to exercise over these last several weeks. Christina Lombardi, DPT PT has put together easy exercises to get you moving at home! Each Wednesday for the next several weeks we will share these exercises with you. Each exercise includes descriptive information and a video to demonstrate

Connie Sun was diagnosed with aggressive, pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) while her son was still an infant. To make the diagnosis most terrifying, she received the diagnosis in the midst the coronavirus pandemic. Sun was screened for breast cancer in July of 2019 and was given the all-clear. But in early 2020, she felt a

I was sitting out in my backyard over the weekend when my 3-year-old neighbor said over the fence, “Teeny (my nickname). I miss hugging you.” My heart. I miss hugging too. I was a hugger and a hand holder and a shoulder to cry on-er before COVID. Oh I was also a face toucher. Suddenly,

What should I do…and when should I do it? I recently read an article that electronic health record data showed a sudden drop in preventative cancer screenings for March 2020 in the United States.  It showed a decrease of 86% – 94% in preventive cancer screenings for cervical, colon, and breast cancers, compared to average

In April, President Trump froze America’s contributions to the World Health Organization, which accounts for the agency’s largest source of funding at roughly $400 million per year. The abrupt move was a retaliatory measure meant to punish the agency for its handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which had the president had accused of the

Charly, pictured with one of her daughters, was diagnosed with breast cancer during the COVID-19 outbreak. We caught up with people living with cancer across the country, to find out how the coronavirus pandemic has been affecting them and their families. Christine: “I should have known when they came back in PPE” Christine was diagnosed

Earth from space. Credit: NASA Test for prostate cancer ‘in under 15 minutes’  A new ‘prostogram’ test has been developed in the UK, which uses MRI to detect cancer. Science Focus covered early results from a trial involving 400 men aged 50–69 suggest the scan was better at detecting aggressive cancers than the current test. It’s hoped that the

Vulvovaginal atrophy (atrophic vaginitis) affects roughly a third of breast cancer survivors and negatively impacts their quality of life in multiple ways. The condition can lead to thinning, drying, and inflammation of the vaginal walls and typically occurs when the body produces less estrogen than normal. It can make daily life and activities uncomfortable, and

Last week, I needed to get some labs drawn. I’m not going to lie, I was terrified and anxious about going back to the hospital. Was I risking exposure to COVID by going in? How could I keep myself safe? I kept myself up much of the night before. Tossing, turning, playing out every possible

Excessive drowsiness during the day could be an indication that something more sinister is happening in the body. It’s a condition called hypersomnolence. It can affect a person’s daily life to the point of being debilitating, as they may fall asleep at work, during an event or meal, or while having a conversation with other

“There is a fear that people are going to die and not get the treatments they need. People are really worried.” – Clare, diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2013. We caught up with people living with cancer across the country, to find out how isolation due to the pandemic has been affecting them and their