Understanding Cancer | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Meditation: What It Is and How To Try It
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer and other health conditions not only affect the body physically; they can also carry a major emotional impact. While the main focus for many pa...
Cancer Mythbusters: Pancreatic Cancer
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is the number one cause of pancreatic cancer? What are the early warning signs of this disease? And how are researchers making progress in the tr...
Contemplation Meditation
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Wise Person Meditation
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Walking Meditation
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Mountain Meditation
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Golden Light Meditation
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcani, PhD, RN, program...
Managing Side Effects Through Nutrition
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret: Cancer treatments are powerful. It’s also no secret that these drugs can also harm healthy cells in the body, which can lead to side...
Vaping and Menthol Cigarettes: What's Happening?
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Although scientists are still learning about the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes, including the question of whether they heighten cancer risk...
Nutrition Tips For Caregivers
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Caregivers play a vital role in helping cancer patients face the daily challenges of their diagnosis. While everyone’s needs may vary, caregivers ar...
Debunking Diets
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever thought about starting a diet, you're not alone. Studies suggest that more than 45 million Americans will attempt to diet every year....
Cancer Mythbusters: Colorectal Cancer
28 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As of 2019, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the United States — but survival after diagnosis has bee...
Understanding Nutrition Labels
10 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you're a cancer patient or not, what should you be paying attention to on the Nutrition Facts label found on packaged food and beverages in th...
Why is Nutrition Important?
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why is nutrition so important, and what should cancer patients should keep in mind during and after treatment? With the help of Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD...
Cancer Mythbusters: Childhood Cancer Myths
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Childhood cancer is rare, but when it happens, it usually brings up an endless stream of questions for parents. How did this happen? What will life be...
Understanding Sleep
17 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We all know sleep is important, but sometimes a good night of Z’s feels hard to come by. In today’s episode of Understanding Cancer from Dana-Farb...
Cancer Mythbusters: Is Cancer a "Battle"?
12 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We hear it all the time: Cancer is a battle, and patients have to fight in order to increase their chances of a good outcome. It’s a common message ...
Cancer Mythbusters: Alternative Therapies
20 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The search for new and better cancer treatments has resulted in some incredible discoveries in recent years. Immunotherapy, a kind of cancer therapy t...
Cancer Mythbusters: Chemotherapy
07 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chemotherapy has long been a mainstay of cancer treatment. Today, in the era of precision cancer medicine, there are newer treatments and chemotherapy...
How a Father and Daughter Learned to Cope with Cancer
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Father and daughter Dennis Gorden and Becky Nutley can each tell you first-hand what a cancer diagnosis is like. Gorden was diagnosed with bladder can...
Cancer Mythbusters: Early Cancer Detection and Risk
17 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer research is often geared toward finding new and effective treatments, but researchers are also constantly trying to pinpoint ways to find cance...
Cancer Mythbusters: Prostate Cancer Myths
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer forms in the prostate, a gland located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum in males. In the...
Cancer Mythbusters: Breast Cancer Risk
27 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women, and as a result, there is an almost endless stream of information about the disease on the...
Cancer Mythbusters: Leukemia Myths
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, is one of the most well-known types of cancer. In the case of leukemia, the b...
Cancer Mythbusters: What to Know About Marijuana
23 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years, marijuana—also known by names such as pot or weed—has been used for medicinal purposes. A psychoactive drug, marijuana is ...
Cancer Mythbusters: Brain Tumor Myths
20 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brain tumors are some of the most complex types of cancers that exist, requiring a multidisciplinary team of many specialists. There are two main type...
Nutrition And Cancer: Alkaline Diet
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Exercise
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Fruits Vegetables And Protein
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Organic Food
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Phytonutrients
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Sugar
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Vitamin D
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Nutrition And Cancer: Whole Grains
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to recordings of nutritionists and other experts discussing the relationship between diet and cancer. Each episode covers different nutritional...
Cancer Mythbusters: Superfoods and Cancer
01 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What should we eat, and what shouldn’t we eat? What keeps cancer patients healthy, and what can help fend off cancer in the first place? These are b...
A Loving Kindness Meditation
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Body-Focused Awareness
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
Breath-Focused Awareness
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Meditation is a practice that can help us learn to be present in the moment and navigate life's challenges. Produced by Patty Arcari, PhD, RN, program...
What is Immunotherapy?
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Immunotherapy is a kind of treatment that has had stunning results in some patients with cancers like melanoma, lymphoma, and kidney cancer. Immunothe...
Beyond Cancer Episode #1: Family Dynamics
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
No one wants to give their kids bad news, and it’s hard to imagine something worse than telling your kids you have cancer. For lymphoma survivors Gi...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #6: Is Palliative Care Only for End-of-Life Patients?
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Palliative care is an often misunderstood specialty, focused on providing support and pain management strategies to cancer patients throughout all sta...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #5: Cancer Clinical Trials
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Clinical trials are scientific studies in which new treatments — drugs, diagnostic procedures, and other therapies — are tested to determine if th...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #4: Is Cancer Contagious?
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A cancer diagnosis can inspire many questions, one of the most common being, “How did I get this disease?” There are a host of different causes, a...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #3: Lung Cancer and Smoking
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Every time tobacco is inhaled, it creates conditions in the body almost ideally suited to the formation of cancer. So how do experts explain lung canc...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #2: Cancer Genetics and Prevention
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the fact that cancer survivorship is on the rise, it may seem that cancer is everywhere — and that there’s nothing we can do about it. But...
Cancer Mythbusters Episode #1: Breast Lumps and Cancer
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Most breast lumps are not cancer. But many myths persist about the relationship between the two — including whether a woman can tell if a lump is ca...
Cancer Conversations: The Latest in Colon Cancer Prevention
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, director of clinical research for Dana-Farber’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, discusses colorectal cancer preventio...
Voices: Multiple Myeloma Patient Linda Solomon
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Linda Solomon, a trained medical technologist, saw the results of her routine complete blood count in 2009, she knew it wasn’t good news. Solom...
Voices: Breast Cancer Survivor Gabby Spear
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Gabby Spear, a young, active mom, had never noticed a lump or pain before suddenly finding her breast cancer in November 2013, when she was 38. She wa...
Voices: Neuroblastoma Patient Emily Coughlin
03 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Amy McHugh's daughter, Emily Coughlin, was a normal, active 4-year-old, until she started experiencing knee pain the ultimately led to a diagnosis of ...
Voices: Male Breast Cancer Patient Mike Johnston
15 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Mike Johnston felt a lump in his chest in 2009, he assumed it was a side effect of a high blood pressure medication. But after a routine doctor's...
Voices: Leukemia Survivor Ben Blaisdell
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Blaisdell was a popular 16-year-old when he started experiencing uncharacteristic chills, which eventually led to the surprising news that he had ...
Voices: Breast Cancer Survivor Catherine Goff
15 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Catherine Goff was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma while attending college in the 1970s, it was the shock of a lifetime. Less surprising — but ...
Beyond Cancer Episode #6: When Treatment Ends
29 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Treatment ends. And you’re home free. That’s what many friends and family think. But cancer patients know that the time after your treatment ends ...
Beyond Cancer Episode #5: Stupid Things People Say
15 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Stupid things. We all say them. And cancer patients have heard them all — from the insensitive to the absurd, from nutrition tips to fertility advic...
Cancer Conversations: Brain Tumor Research and Treatment
14 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Brain tumors can be among the most challenging cancers to treat. Patrick Wen, MD, and David Reardon, MD, of Dana-Farber’s Center for Neuro-Oncology,...
Cancer Conversations: Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research
31 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Prostate cancer affects 230,000 men each year. Mark Pomerantz, MD, a medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary On...
Beyond Cancer Episode #4: Exercise and Cancer
22 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re 69 and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, what do you do? For John Barrett, the answer was easy: become a certified physical trainer. But ...
Balancing Motherhood and Breast Cancer
15 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Gabby Spear and Colleen Sullivan discuss the ups and downs of balancing motherhood and breast cancer, how they communicated about their diagnosis, and...
Cancer Conversations: Lung Cancer Treatment and Research
14 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Geoffrey Oxnard, MD, from Dana-Farber's Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology discusses the rapid pace of lung cancer research and resulting tr...
Cancer Conversations: Latest in Genetics and Women’s Cancers
06 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Judy Garber, MD, MPH, director of clinical research for Dana-Farber’s Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, shares updates in geneti...
Mastectomy, or Not: Breast Cancer Surgery Decisions
29 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Although they were both diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, Amanda and Judy elected two very different surgical treatments. They discuss their s...
Cancer Conversations: Advice for Parenting During Cancer Treatment
19 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kelly (Drummond) Giles, LICSW, a Dana-Farber social worker, joins fellow Dana-Farber social worker Allison Dibiaso, LICSW, and Sarah Silvia, a single ...
Cancer Conversations: Advances in Pediatric Brain Tumor Treatment
09 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Dana-Farber's Mark Kieran, MD, PhD, and Peter Manley, MD, discuss treatment options and new research for pediatric brain tumors.
Beyond Cancer Episode #3: Coping Through Creativity
03 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Tara Shuman didn’t necessarily set out to be a blogger, let alone a book author. But in the throes of a cancer diagnosis, she turned to writing as a...
Fertility Decisions as a Young Woman with Breast Cancer
30 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Maggie was faced with a number of difficult decisions when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. Some of the biggest decisions she faced cen...
Cancer Conversations: The Latest in Melanoma
26 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Jennifer Lin, MD, from Dana-Farber's Center for Melanoma Oncology, discusses prevention tips and the latest treatment options and research ...
Cancer Conversations: Precision Medicine and Lung Cancer
12 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Dana-Farber's Barrett Rollins, MD, PhD, and David Jackman, MD, discuss developments in precision cancer medicine and how new research may i...
Beyond Cancer Episode #2: Fear and 'Scanxiety'
12 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
For otherwise healthy individuals, a CT scan or an MRI is an uncommon event. But for cancer survivors like Jeremy Pivor, it’s a routine part of life...
Living Well with ‘Chronic’ Breast Cancer
25 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Duncan was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in October 2015, but she isn’t fond of the phrase “stage IV” and prefers to say she has “trea...
Cancer Conversations: Best Foods and Diet for Cancer Treatment and Survivorship
21 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Dana-Farber nutritionist Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, discusses the optimal foods for cancer patients and answers questions about the lates...
Voices Episode #1: SoulMates
11 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Melissa and Noel were both diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in their 30s. Matched through Dana-Farber's SoulMates program, Noel was tasked with ...
Cancer Conversations: Life After Childhood Cancer Treatment
06 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, answers questions about the unique needs ...
Cancer Conversations: Cervical Cancer Research, Treatment, and Prevention
24 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Ursula Matulonis, MD, medical director of the Gynecologic Oncology Program in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, joins medical ...
Cancer Conversations: Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment and Research
10 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Eric Winer, MD, director of the Breast Oncology Program in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, discusses the latest treatments f...
Cancer Conversations: Research in Multiple Myeloma, Leukemia, and Other Blood Cancers
25 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Irene Ghobrial, MD, and Matthew Davids, MD, from Dana-Farber's Hematologic Oncology Treatment Center discuss the latest treatment advances ...
Cancer Conversations: The Latest in Ovarian Cancer Treatment and Research
12 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From 2016: Ursula Matulonis, MD, Panos Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, and Susana Campos, MD, MPH, from the Gynecologic Oncology Program at the Susan F. S...
Cancer Conversations: The Truth About BRCA Testing and Genetic Risk
28 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Huma Rana, MD, clinical director of Dana-Farber's Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, gives an overview of the link between genetics and women'...
Cancer Conversations: Integrative Therapies for Cancer
21 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David Rosenthal, MD, former clinical director of Dana-Farber's Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, discusses acupuncture, meditation, y...