After Twenty Years Cancer Research Blog

A Role for Progesterone in Breast Cancer Treatment?

June 20, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Cancer Clinical Trials, Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Tamoxifen, Targeted Therapies 3 Comments

Back in August 2015, I wrote about an article in the journal Nature on some interesting new discoveries about the role of the hormone progesterone in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

The research suggested that adding progesterone to standard treatment with tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor could increase the effectiveness of treatment for this subtype of breast cancer, while possibly also lowering toxicity.

Cancer Research UK reports that these findings are now going to be investigated in three clinical trials that are set to begin. Continue reading →
5 Cancer Research Stories Worth Following – Spring 2017

May 19, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Brain Tumors, Cancer Risk, Integrative Oncology, Ovarian Cancer, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer 1 Comment

What’s the latest news in cancer research that we need to know about? In this post, I’ll briefly review several of the most interesting cancer research stories that have been in the news this spring.

These are a few of the recent stories that seem to have the greatest potential impact, at least from my perspective, and that I know I’ll want to follow as they develop further.

Topics covered this time include studies reported at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on the use of PARP inhibitors to treat different types of cancer, as well as a study on the benefits of immunotherapy for triple negative breast cancer.

Continue reading →

What is “Step Therapy” and Why Should We Care?

April 27, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Health Policy Tags: Drug Prices, Financial Toxicity, Step Therapy 2 Comments

What in the world is “step therapy”? Maybe a new type of fitness routine? Unfortunately, it’s nothing of the kind. And this benign sounding term can sometimes mean bad news for cancer patients and others who need newer, but often more costly, medications that have been prescribed by their doctors.

This February, I joined a group of advocates for meetings at our state legislature here in Virginia. One of the major issues on our agenda was the need for reform of the practice of step therapy, which has increased significantly across the country in recent years with the rising prices of prescription drugs. Continue reading →
Review of “The Gene: An Intimate History” by Siddhartha Mukherjee

March 29, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Book Reviews Tags: Cancer Causes, Genetic Testing, Genome Sequencing, Siddhartha Mukherjee 2 Comments

I’ve been looking forward to reading Siddhartha Mukherjee’s latest book, “The Gene: An Intimate History”, since it was published last year.

His Pulitzer prize-winning “The Emperor of All Maladies” is one of the most interesting and informative books about cancer that I’ve read. In addition, now that genome sequencing and other forms of genetic testing are becoming more accessible and more common, I hoped this new book would provide some insights about where we are in all of this and what we might realistically expect from more expansive genetic testing in the years to come. Continue reading →

5 Cancer Research Stories Worth Following – Winter 2017

February 27, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: BRCA Mutations, Genetic Testing, Health Care Equality, Palbociclib, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer 4 Comments

What’s the latest news in cancer research that we need to know about? In this post, I’ll briefly review several of the most interesting cancer research stories that have been in the news this winter.

These are a few of the recent stories that seem to have the greatest potential impact, at least from my perspective, and that I know I’ll want to follow as they develop further.

Topics covered this time include a possible new use for an existing drug to prevent metastasis in triple negative breast cancer, and new imaging technology that could provide a noninvasive way to monitor ongoing treatment.

Continue reading →
A New Year: Where Do We Go From Here?

January 7, 2017 By Lisa DeFerrari in Health Policy Tags: Drug Prices, Financial Toxicity, Health Care Equality, Health Policy 3 Comments

One of the things I enjoy about the holiday season is that it usually includes some down time to reflect a bit on the past year and opportunities the new year brings.

As we start this new year, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a wonderful year ahead, but it’s hard not to also recognize that there are many uncertainties at play in the larger world today.

I’ve been thinking lately about some of the lessons I’ve learned going through difficult times in the past. One of those lessons was recognizing that even when our world seems to be veering off course, there are things we can control. And those are the small and large (mostly small) choices we make and actions we take every day that add up to the kind of year we have and the life we live.

Continue reading →

10 Things We Learned About Progress Against Cancer in 2016

December 20, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Cancer Clinical Trials, Cancer Moonshot, Financial Toxicity, Immune System Therapies, Metastatic Breast Cancer

2016 was not a year for big breakthroughs in cancer research and improving access to quality care. And yet, it was a year in which many of the issues that need to be addressed if we want to ever see those breakthroughs were front and center.

Those issues include the need for collaborative research and sustained research funding, finding ways to make immune system treatments safer and effective for more patients and addressing the problem of outrageously high drug prices. Continue reading →
Cancer and Health Policy: Some Things I’m Watching

November 29, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Health Policy Tags: Financial Toxicity, Health Care Equality, Health Policy, Precision Medicine 8 Comments

The last month has been full of discussion about where we’re headed as a country following the November 2016 election.

Health care policy is a big part of that discussion. There’s been much opining on what the leadership in Congress will likely be seeking to do. Right now, we are mostly faced with a huge amount of uncertainty.

Discussions of health care issues are often presented in ideological terms. But here’s the thing about cancer: once you’ve had to deal with it, you’re perspective changes. Whether you identify with Republicans, Democrats–or neither–you realize that many of the things that matter most are the same for everyone.

Continue reading →

5 Cancer Research Stories Worth Following – Fall 2016

November 5, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Financial Toxicity, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Radiation Therapy, Targeted Therapies

What’s exciting in cancer research right now? In this post, I’ll review several of the most interesting cancer research stories that have been in the news this fall.

These are a few of the recent stories that seem to have the greatest potential impact, at least from my perspective, and that I know I’ll want to follow as they develop further.

Stories worth following this fall include two studies on financial toxicity and new developments in targeted cancer therapies for ovarian cancer and for metastatic breast cancer. Continue reading →
Charity Review: Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation

October 15, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Charities Tags: Army of Women, Cancer Causes, Cancer Risk, Collateral Damage, Metastatic Breast Cancer 5 Comments

One of the best ways to help in the fight against cancer is by making a donation in support of cancer research. But deciding which organizations will make the most effective use of our contributions requires a little homework.

I’ve shared my ideas in earlier posts on contributing to breast cancer charities and focusing on charities that support cancer research specifically. This post is the third in a series in which we’re taking a closer look at individual charities that focus primarily on cancer research.

When it comes to donations, making a choice based on value for our money means considering several factors for any individual charity. These include how the organization uses the money it raises, its financial health, and how transparent it is about what has been accomplished with the contributions it has received. In this post, we’ll review the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, including its mission and approach, history, notable financial facts and results reporting. Continue reading →