After Twenty Years Cancer Research Blog

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 →

Three Year Anniversary for After Twenty Years Cancer Research Blog

September 29, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Blogging, Cancer Advocacy Tags: Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Risk, Health Journalism, Quality of Life Issues 8 Comments

It really is hard to believe that it’s been over three years since I started this blog in the late summer of 2013.

I have learned so much in the process of reading and writing about developments in cancer research from the patient perspective. And it’s been wonderful to connect with so many readers and fellow bloggers.

I’ve been reflecting a bit on starting the blog, how it’s been going and what comes next, and I’d like to share some of those thoughts in this post.

Continue reading →
Metastatic Breast Cancer: Learning About Innovative Research Approaches

September 9, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Breast Cancer Treatment, Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, Genomic Studies, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Palbociclib 2 Comments

In a recent post, we looked at highlights of a major report on the status of metastatic breast cancer care and research. That report notes that progress against MBC has slowed and, over the past decade, only about 7% of research publications about breast cancer have been specifically about metastatic breast cancer. It also talked about several things that need to be done to accelerate progress and offered some hope that we are beginning to move in the right direction.

Shortly after writing that post, I attended an event where I learned about some fascinating MBC research that is going on now. The event was the 2016 Advocate Leadership Summit organized by the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

I’ll share here a few of my impressions from parts of the program that focused specifically on MBC research. Videos of these sessions are now available on the NBCC website. Continue reading →

5 Cancer Research Stories Worth Following – Summer 2016

August 23, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: ASCO, Biosimilars, Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Immune System Therapies, Lung Cancer 6 Comments

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 summer.

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 include several studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June. Among those were a study on extending the use of aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer treatment; findings that a web app boosts survival for patients with lung cancer; and, research on the use of a “biosimilar” treatment that can substitute for the breast cancer drug Herceptin. Continue reading →
Charity Review: Breast Cancer Research Foundation

July 19, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Charities Tags: Cancer Clinical Trials, Immune System Therapies, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Targeted Therapies, Translational Research

Many of us are interested in making donations in support of cancer research. But figuring out which organizations will make the most effective use of our contributions isn’t always an easy task. This post is the second in a series in which we’re looking at individual charities that focus primarily on cancer research.

Making a choice based on value for our money means considering factors such as how an 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 review the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, including its mission and approach, history, notable financial facts and results reporting. Continue reading →

Cancer Clinical Trials: Why Don’t More of Us Participate?

June 16, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: Cancer Clinical Trials, Health Care Equality, Targeted Therapies, Treatment Toxicities 2 Comments

A recent study got me thinking again about one of the central issues around clinical trials — why don’t more of us participate?

Less than 5 percent of adult cancer patients overall participate in clinical trials, and the rate is even lower for patients from minority populations.

Some of the concerns that keep people from joining clinical trials arise from misperceptions about how clinical trials work. But often patients don’t know to ask about clinical trials and their doctors don’t mention them.

Continue reading →
Charity Review: Stand Up To Cancer

May 31, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Charities Tags: Immune System Therapies, KRAS Mutation, Precision Medicine, Stand Up 2 Cancer, Translational Research, Treatment Resistance 2 Comments

Many of us are interested in donating to organizations that support or conduct cancer research. But figuring out which organizations will make the most effective use of our contributions isn’t always an easy task.

Making a choice based on value for our money means considering factors such as how an 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.

This post is the first in an occasional series in which we’ll take a look at individual charities that focus primarily on cancer research–their history, mission, financial profiles and results reporting. We’ll start with Stand Up To Cancer, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Continue reading →

5 Cancer Research Stories Worth Following – Spring 2016

May 17, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Research Progress Tags: HER2-Positive Breast Cancer, Immune System Therapies, Male Breast Cancer, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

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 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.

Stories worth following include a potential new combination treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer, evidence from a large clinical trial of a gene assay that may help reduce unnecessary treatment, and a new study that offers some insights on male breast cancer. Continue reading →
Metastatic Breast Cancer: How Can We Accelerate Progress?

May 2, 2016 By Lisa DeFerrari in Health Policy, Research Progress Tags: Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Clinical Trials, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Precision Medicine, Quality of Life Issues

For a long time, there has been a critical need for research that is focused specifically on metastatic breast cancer. That means understanding what causes metastasis and how we can intervene to shut down this process even after it has started. Although a true “cure” may not be possible, the question is whether we can treat the disease in such a way that patients live for a very long time with good quality of life.

That should not be so far-fetched an idea. HIV/AIDS not long ago was usually fatal, and now this disease can be managed as a chronic condition with a combination of drugs that patients take for the rest of their lives. Could something like this be possible for breast cancer that has become metastatic?

There have been some amazing advances in the treatment of metastatic melanoma and metastatic lung cancer using immune system therapies. Why have we not seen similar advances in treating metastatic breast cancer?

Continue reading →