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Speaking Up
At Breaking Cancer News, we generally stay away from politics. But when one of the most important pieces of cancer legislation gets slashed after doing so much good for cancer patients these…
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Cancer and the Ugly Side of Election-Year Politics
Cancer is a horrible disease. On that we can all agree. Back in 2016, when then-Vice President Joe Biden announced his initial Cancer Moonshot, the goal was to cut the cancer death rate in…
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Understanding and Overcoming Multidrug Resistance in Cancer Treatment
Multidrug resistance (MDR) poses a significant challenge in cancer treatment, undermining the efficacy of many therapeutic approaches. MDR is a phenomenon whereby cancer cells develop…
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Prevent, Detect, Innovate, Repeat: A Round-Up of the Latest Breakthroughs
There is no debating that technologies and approaches centered on prevention and detection are key to effectively treating cancer and improving survival rates. For prevention’s part – which…
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Riding the Wave
This has been a significant time for Breaking Cancer News. We’ve been singled out and praised by the White House’s Cancer Moonshot for our cancer journalism. We are proud to work with this…
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100 Years in the Making: The Early Detection of Cancer in the Body
Prevent and Detect With support and encouragement from the White House Cancer Moonshot, today we launch a new and important series built to educate 25,000-plus readers about the remarkable…
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Expanded Use of Oral Cancer Drug Reduces Breast Cancer Recurrence Risks
Registered nurse, Vicki Jarvis, worked for years at Tampa General Hospital — in risk management, information technology, and medical records. She was nearing retirement, and at the end of…
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Dr. Ofra Benny: True Courage in Israel’s Booming Cancer Science Community
This is the story of Israeli cancer scientist Ofra Benny, who’s doing amazing things despite working in extremely dangerous conditions Amid the unthinkably dangerous situations within…
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BREAKING: Biden Moonshot recognizes Teen Cancer America and Breaking Cancer News effort to raise awareness of preventive care and expand access to screenings
As Part of the Inaugural National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month, today the Biden Cancer Moonshot announced new actions to strengthen preventive cancer care and expand…
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Prevent and Detect: A New Ball Game
Dear friends, our stories this week offer an abundance of evidence that this is the most productive time in the history of cancer research. It’s actually not even close. This is an…
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For Dr. Jo Varshney, The Future Is Now
Dr. Jo Varshney was born to a pharmacological pedigree in India. Being introduced to the world of drug development and research at a young age and an ethic of competitive…
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Dr. Catherine Wu’s Breakthrough in Cancer Vaccines
In the world of oncology, the quest for effective cancer treatments has taken a significant leap forward with the groundbreaking work of Dr. Catherine Wu, an esteemed oncologist at…
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New Long-awaited COVID Drug Helps Protect Cancer Patients
For over a year, cancer patients and their providers have been waiting for a new drug to help protect against COVID-19. The wait is over. In late March, Pemgarda™ (pemivibart) received…
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Prevent and Detect: A Real Revolution in Real Time – The Blossoming of Personalized Medicine in Cancer
To various degrees, we are all witnessing a real revolution in real time with the blossoming of personalized medicine in cancer. And yes, it is a beautiful thing. If I’m…
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From Rebel to Lifesaver: AI and Cancer
Just a few short years ago, in a galaxy seemingly far, far away, some people were still deathly afraid of Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI. It was just beginning to move out of the…
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Is CyberKnife A Better, Safer Way to Receive Body Radiation Therapy?
Jonathan Hill never had serious health issues until after he turned 69 six years ago. That’s when his PSA slowly crept up and a subsequent biopsy detected cancer. A doctor at the Mayo Clinic…
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Taking the P*@! Out of Cancer: New Urine Test Offers Non-Invasive Solution for Detecting High Grade Prostate Cancer
By all accounts, we are living in the age of true innovation regarding cancer research. And there are few sectors where this is more evident than in the raft of new technologies that have been…
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Prevent and Detect: CAR T is Saving Lives Worldwide, But the Cost of the Drug is An Issue
Instead of our normal Letter, this week we are dedicating this entire spot to one topic. Directly below is a story we highly recommend. This is a heartbreaking inequity that must be addressed…
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CAR T Is a Lifesaver, But Cancer Patients Need More Access
When my cancer came raging back late last year after a 20-year remission, I was stunned. I thought I was done with the Big C. But I had no choice but to accept it and get back into fighting…
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Exercise Can be a Rx for Cancer Pain – and May Even Help Prevent the Disease, Researchers Say
Exercise can reduce cancer-related pain – and even help prevent the disease, according to researchers who published their findings in separate studies. In one study, published in the…
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Accelerated Biological Aging May be to Blame for the Rise in Cancer Among Young Adults
In the fall, we reported on the troubling trend of increasing rates of certain cancers among younger adults. This trend has been occurring for years, and in some studies, the spike in…
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Liquid Biopsy Takes on Pancreatic Cancer
Yesterday a team of doctors from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Southern California presented new research at the annual pow-wow of the American Association for Cancer…
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Prevent and Detect
We’re proud of our readers. You’re smart, curious, compassionate and sometimes impatient. We hear your pain. Our readers are a broad collection of people — young, old and…
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New Molecule Could Treat, and Even Cure, Pancreatic Cancer
While receiving any cancer diagnosis is terrifying, there are certain cancers that are especially scary. Perhaps chief among these is pancreatic cancer. A pancreatic cancer diagnosis is often…
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How Creative Arts Therapies Can Help Young People with Cancer
Children and teens who receive a cancer diagnosis are tasked with going through one of the world’s toughest circumstances during an already challenging developmental phase. Cancer treatments…
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The Cancer Moonshot…and much more
Today marks the first story in a four-part series on the lives of adolescents and young adults with cancer (AYA’s). As we have written on these pages before, cancer rates are rising in…
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We’ve Got Cancer On The Run
The First of Four Stories on The Cancer Moonshot and Its Impact: “Prevent and Detect” Most of the fellow cancer patients I’ve met in my life have had days during treatment that are…
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Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: The Future of Cancer Treatment
In 1984, US Navy officer Linda Taylor was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive form of skin cancer with a survival rate of less than 10%. Taylor’s official navy file status…
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Study: “Switch” Triggers Chain Reaction that Kills Cancer Cells
A newly discovered part of a molecule can trigger a chain reaction that kills cancer cells, which could lead to breakthroughs in treatment of some tumors, researchers say. The epitope appears…
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Boundaries, Bygones and Icons
This week we let our hair down a bit to talk to you about an amazing gift from Mark Knopfler, the brilliant guitarist, songwriter, singer and longtime leader of Dire Straits (he’s now a solo…
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Guitar Master Mark Knopfler Gives Back to Young Cancer Patients in US and UK With A Stunning Musical GIFT to the World
When I was 17 and just days away from graduating from high school and heading off to college, my best buddy and I visited a local record store determined to find some good tunes for…
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Unraveling the Mystery of KRAS Mutation in Cancer
In the realm of cancer research, few targets have proven as elusive and challenging as the KRAS mutation. For decades, scientists have grappled with the complexities of this mutation and its…
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The Pen is Mightier than the “C Word”
Words are powerful. Whether communicating the news of the day, conveying complex ideas, or simply as an art form, the written word makes up the foundation of all communication. But the impact…
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Gwen Nichols Fights the Good Fight: New, “Living” Drugs Mean New Hope for Young People With Cancer
Last week we reported that at City of Hope, the renowned cancer hospital in Southern California, CAR T immunotherapy is showing real promise in the treatment of glioblastoma, a type of brain…
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Could one of the keys to understanding cancer be…worms?
At Breaking Cancer News, we’re always on the lookout for cancer stories that are a little outside the box. After all, the most innovative treatments and technologies are rarely found “inside…
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Something for Everyone
This week we’ve got something for just about everyone. My story directly below looks at a watershed moment in the evolution of living cancer treatments. Several of the world’s top cancer…
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PAP Test for Cervical Cancer is Key in Early Detection
Anyone with a cervix is at risk for cervical cancer. Every year there are around 11,500 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the United States. About 4,000 women will die from cervical…
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History Being Made at the City of Hope
CAR T immunotherapy is the talk of the cancer world right now. But can it work in the brain? It sure doesn’t seem likely. It’s obviously much more problematic and complicated to send CAR…
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New Cancer Moonshot Initiatives for Troops and Veterans With Cancer
This past week, President Joe Biden introduced several new programs to boost the White House’s Cancer Moonshot. I’ve just finished reading about these new programs, and not one of them is…
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The Unlikely Causes of Cancer: Microbiota and Transmission from Mother to Child
The gut microbiota is home to approximately 1,000 species of microorganisms, such as bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. It contains almost 100 times more genes than the human…
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Cancer Increases Suicide Risk, But Experts Say Awareness, Treatment of Depression Can Prevent Patients from Taking Their Own Lives
Sometimes, the ravages of cancer treatment and the seemingly impenetrable darkness of deep depression and despair prompt patients to end their lives. In fact, research shows that patients…
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Patients and Physicians Agree: Blood Tests Could Help Close Colorectal Cancer Screening Gap and Save Lives
There are an unprecedented number of new technologies in the cancer arena that have broken through and are ready for prime time or close to it. And some of the most impressive advances…
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Cancer: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
As editor of this magazine, I want to inform you and inspire you. I want to give you everything you need to fight cancer or help a family member or friend or stranger fight this insidious…
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Good Vibrations: ‘Molecular Jackhammers’ Stimulated by Infrared Light Destroy Cancer Cells
“Molecular jackhammers” – molecules that vibrate trillions of times per second when stimulated by infrared light – can destroy cancer cells, which could lead to “revolutionary” treatment of…
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NIH Announces Clinical Trials Network to Evaluate Liquid Biopsy, Other Emerging Technologies
On February 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the launch of a clinical trials network to evaluate emerging technologies for cancer screening, such as liquid biopsies.…
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Traumatic Brain Injury, Now Cancer: Another Massive Health Emergency for our Troops
For 23 years, I proudly covered our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots around the globe. It was one of the highlights of my journalism career. But there were times when it…
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All in for AYAs
At BreakingCancerNews.com, we care deeply about all cancer patients of all ages. And we support the companies and scientists and physicians who are making so many big advances…
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Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Could Become New Standard of Care for This Hard-to-Treat Cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common form of pancreatic cancer and is one of the deadliest of all cancer types. The only curative treatment is surgery, but 90% of…
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Revolutionizing Cancer Research and Treatment: The Latest Advancements in Bioprinting
In recent years, bioprinting has emerged as a groundbreaking technology with the potential to revolutionize cancer research, treatment, and drug development. This innovative approach combines…
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CAR T Has Risks, But for Tens of Thousands of Cancer Patients It’s Been Worth It
As a three-time survivor of stage IV cancer who was recently treated with CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T cell Immunotherapy, my take on this contentious issue may surprise you.…
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CAR T Comes of Age; Secondary Cancers Remain An Issue
One of the most promising treatments for cancer is CAR T immunotherapy. Only recently has CAR T come into its own as a viable and widely known cancer fighter. A big reason for this, according…
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Education and Good Bathroom Policies in Schools Can Help Save Lives
Prevention, Awareness and Early Detection are Better Than a Cure K-12 students with cancer who are able to continue with their education in-person have to deal with the same hurdles as their…
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Dysregulation of RNA Processing in Cancer: Is There Treatment Potential?
In a previous story, we investigated whether the newly announced hallmarks of aging are also associated with cancer. That article discussed the relationship between autophagy and cancer…
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Holy Grail – The Sequel
I’ve had the pleasure of covering GRAIL for several years. And no one can say that the company doesn’t get enough publicity. But the coverage can at times be misguided and now and then it can…
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With Young Adult Cancer on the Rise, Rock Legends Record Star-Studded Track to Support AYA Charities
There is always a need for more resources and services for those diagnosed with cancer. But for patients and survivors in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) age group – generally defined as…
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Why the Way We Talk About Cancer Matters So Much
The words we choose to talk about cancer matter a great deal to patients, their caregivers and others in their lives – and can even play a big role in how…
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Welcome to Cancer 2024
Take a close look here and throughout our website, and you will see things you have never seen and learn things you didn’t know. It feels like the future. But it’s not. Consider, for…
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From Rags to Riches: Cancer Drugs and Cancer Technologies With Shaky Starts Are Now Booming
Dear Readers, My letter to you this week was originally going to show you all the new cancer treatments and describe them in detail. But I quickly realized to my great joy that there…
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Will Liquid Biopsy and Machine Learning Together Change How Cancer Is Detected?
City of Hope and TGen researchers are developing a machine-learning tool to detect cancer earlier via liquid biopsy Liquid Biopsies and Machine Learning have had their share of ups and downs…
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From Croissants to Cancer: The Unlikely Story of an Innovative AI Solution
Aside from Taylor Swift, there are few topics that have dominated more recent headlines than artificial intelligence (AI). This is especially true in the realm of healthcare, where AI is being…
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Going Digital: The Profound Impact of Digital Therapeutics in Cancer Care
The voice of the patient matters. In the rapidly evolving landscape of oncology therapies, there is a dire need for innovative solutions to the problems patients want and need. Digital…
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Cancer Vaccines Save Lives, But the FDA Has Been Slow to Acknowledge It
More than a decade ago I wrote a story about a cancer vaccine called BioVaxID for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It showed great promise in clinical trials but was never approved by the Food and Drug…
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The HPV Vaccine as Cancer Prevention
If you could protect your child or yourself from various types of cancer, would you? It’s possible; and many are passing on a very important life-saving vaccine that can do just that—keep…
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MD Anderson’s AYA Program is Addressing a Unique Set of Challenges
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has been a part of Ian Shuttleworth’s life since he was 15. As a teen, he was shielded from most of his health decisions, but when he was re-diagnosed in 2020 and had…
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How Do CTLA-4 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Fight Cancer?
The human immune system, which all of us have, possesses a delicate arrangement of checks and balances. Killer T-cells, for example, are designed to identify and terminate infected cells and…
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When The Drug Is More Dangerous Than The Cancer
In November, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its updated guidelines on mental, neurological, and substance use disorders. In these new guidelines, the organization…
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The Healing Power of Music In Cancer Care
Since time immemorial, we have marveled at music’s seemingly mystical power to soothe our hearts and minds and souls, to ease our anxieties, to pierce the darkness of despair with the…
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Equipped with BRCA Test Results, Breast Cancer Previvors Sometimes Make Impossible Decisions
Those diagnosed with breast cancer are often forced to make unimaginable decisions. Choosing between harsh treatments that carry drastic side effects, family planning when faced with the…
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Joe W. Ramos, PhD: An Inspired Executive and Researcher Leading Innovation at Louisiana Cancer Research Center
Joe W. Ramos, PhD, hasn’t wasted any time since beginning his tenure a year ago as Director and CEO of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC) in New Orleans, with a goal of bringing…
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Is This the Most Exciting Time in the History of Cancer Science?
As I write our weekly story today, I just can’t curb my enthusiasm over the state of cancer research nationwide and worldwide. There is of course far too much going on in the cancer sector to…
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Bispecific Drugs: Doubling the Impact on Cancer
Have you heard the old proverb “killing two birds with one stone?” It simply means achieving two goals with a single action. That’s precisely what bispecific antibodies are…
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Abby’s Story: Three-time Cancer Survivor Grateful for Groundbreaking CAR-T Therapy
CAR T-cell therapy came along just in time for Abegail Joy Dionisio. The young adult cancer patient credits the treatment and her family’s support for where she is today: happy, healthy and…
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PD-1/L1 Inhibitors Save Lives, But More Work is Needed
In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first PD-1/L1 inhibitor. Every year since then, the FDA has approved new PD-1/L1 inhibitors or expanded the use of established…
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Liquid Biopsy: Its Time Has Come
About seven years ago, I was chatting with an old scientist friend of mine in his office on the Mesa near the ocean and the University of California San Diego. The stunning area had…
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The Future of Early Cancer Detection and Monitoring
In recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of cancer detection and treatment. Among the innovative techniques that have emerged, liquid biopsy has quickly gained traction…
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BREAKING: Study Highlights the Potential of PrognomiQ’s Liquid Biopsy Platform to Detect Early-Stage Lung Cancer
Liquid biopsy has been grabbing headlines lately, and for good reason. Few recent developments have been as revolutionary in the cancer arena as liquid biopsy; a non-invasive test that has…
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DermTech Has Developed a Test to Rule Out Melanoma
People worry about melanoma. They closely track their moles, conducting ad hoc time studies with their iPhone cameras and circling questionable ones with Sharpies for their dermatologists to…
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We Understand So Much More About Cancer Now, But We Have So Many More Mountains to Climb
Cancer has been a deeply feared and largely misunderstood enemy of human beings since at least the Ancient Egyptians, who declared in 1600 B.C. that there was no treatment for this deadly…
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Everything Under the Sun: Welcome to Our Semi-Regular Look at the Newest, Most Promising Cancer Medicines
1) Promising New Drug for Sarcoma in children Lamentably, there seems to be an endless supply of cancers out there to menace us all. The good news? We we are coming up with better, smarter…
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Pioneer Therapy ENHERTU Expands Use For Various Tumor Types
When Dr. Jason Mouabbi was 18 years old, his grandmother, who had raised him for many years, died of lung cancer. Over time, his initial shock and depression morphed into determination. Now an…
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Could Saliva Provide a Quick Test to Detect Cancer?
With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), researchers say they’ve made major strides in developing a test that could detect cancer in a tiny dab of saliva. Human tests likely…
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To All Who Read This…Please Consider a Clinical Trial
If you really want to learn about your cancer, and yourself, try thinking outside the box and consider a drug that is not on the “main list”. In other words: Consider a…
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Teen and Young Adult Cancer Patients Must Be Told About Fertility
If there’s anything that can rob you of the joys of being a teenager or young adult, it’s a cancer diagnosis. When you hear a doctor say “you have cancer” at such a tender age, you…
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Have You Been Given A Lymphoma Diagnosis? Here’s Some Expert Advice on What To Do Next
When someone receives his or her first diagnosis of lymphoma, the new patient typically doesn’t understand what the disease actually is, or how or where to start looking for treatment.…
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Is Radio Frequency the Next Frontier in Cancer Treatment…and Even Detection?
In recent years, some of medicine’s most brilliant minds have developed innovative new therapies and treatments to help fight cancer; advancements that were once thought unimaginable. Now…
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A New CAR!
Conventional oncological behavior suggests that with almost absurd regularity, neither an oncologist nor a scientist will pay much attention when something “new” comes rolling into his or her…
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Someone Saved My Life Tonight
It’s been 27 years now since my first battle with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and my first go-round as a cancer patient advocate. I had a lot to learn. I’ve done this dance every year…
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Carvykti – CAR-T Therapy for Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients
Scientists at Legend Biotech Corporation and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) are one step closer to helping patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). The companies…
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Metabolites and Cancer: A Journey from Biomarkers to Precision Therapy
Metabolomics is an esoteric-sounding word. However, in medical terminology, it means analyzing the metabolite composition of cells and biological fluids. By studying these metabolites –…
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Finding Innovation and Inspiration “Outside the Box”
Conventional wisdom forms the foundation of much of modern medicine. Procedures, techniques, and pharmaceutical formulations that have proven effective are taught, practiced, and replicated in…
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Could Marijuana be a Miracle Cure for Cancer? Or is it Just a Pipe Dream?
For decades, cancer patients across the world have turned to marijuana to help ease extreme nausea, fits of vomiting, pain and anxiety that often accompany the disease. Now a small but growing…
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Rethinking the Modern Approach to Carcinogenesis: A New Paradigm for Understanding Childhood Cancer
The continued rise in pediatric cancer rates – even without standard risk factors in children, like smoking and poor lifestyle choices – signals a gap in existing cancer development theories.…
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Intratumoral Microbiome: A New Influencer in Cancer?
Isn’t it fascinating that the human body actually harbors more microbes than human cells? It’s true! Our bodies serve as hosts to a vast array of microorganisms, with a population…
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Innovative Coaching Program Improves Mental Health in Adolescent and Young Adult Patients
A novel approach to helping teens and young adults cope with cancer is improving their mental health both during and after their treatment. Adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with…
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Moving the Needle for AYAs: Celebrating the Wins, While Acknowledging the Work that Remains
The adolescent and young adult (AYA) age group is generally defined as people between the ages of 15 and 39. You would be hard-pressed to find an age range that encompasses more pivotal…
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Beyond Stats: Making Epidemiology’s Life-Saving Vision a Reality
Epidemiology is a vital asset to public health. Groundbreaking research like the 1952 Hammond-Horn study by The American Cancer Society paved the way for essential cancer prevention research.…
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Advocacy and Advancements in Teen and Young Adult Cancers Gain Momentum, Highlight Gaps in Care
Over the past 50 years, significant breakthroughs have transformed the detection and treatment of cancer, from new screening modalities to innovative therapies. However, one patient population…
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A Magazine, a Mission, and an Ask
“Plain talk about what’s hot and hopeful in the cancer arena – for young people and anyone else who’s listening.” That’s our tagline at Breaking Cancer News and an apt description of the…
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AYAs In Clinical Trials: Underrepresented And Underserved
Although adolescents and young adults (AYA) have been recognized as a unique patient population for nearly 30 years, their survival rates for certain types of cancers have stagnated. On one…
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Precision Oncology: Personalizing Cancer Care for AYA Patients
Anaplastic astrocytoma is a rare and highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Most commonly found in adults between the ages 30 and 50, it is characterized by aggressive tumor growth in the…
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