Cancer Horizons

S6 Ep22: Oncology Approvals, Psychological Outcomes for Survivors and an Ovarian Cancer Vaccine

Last week we saw some FDA approvals come through, as well as research that explored the psychosocial outcomes of individuals who survived pediatric rhabdosarcoma. And finally, we’ll discuss another cancer vaccine clinical trial that got the green light from the Food and Drug Administration.  FDA Approved Besponsa for Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia The first FDA approval of last week was one in the pediatric cancer space. The agency approved Besponsa for children who are at leas...

S6 Ep21: Cannabis Talks During Cancer, Cardiometabolic Comorbidities and Current Research

In addition to a breakthrough therapy designation for a lung cancer drug, this week we’ll be talking a lot about additional side effects and health conditions that may come with a cancer diagnosis, and how to manage them.  We heard from an expert about using cannabis during cancer care, took a look at a patient population that may be more prone to cardiometabolic conditions after cancer treatment and we’ll highlight a study that’s looking at preventing infection and GVHD in patients with bl...

S6 Ep20: FDA Approvals from February 2024

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved four different therapies in the oncology space — one of which, Amtagvi, marks the first cellular therapy for the treatment of solid cancers.  The week’s first approval (an Onivyde regimen for metastatic pancreatic cancer) was covered in last week’s episode, but here’s a list of what has happened since that last recording.  FDA Approves Tepmetko for Metastatic NSCLC Subtype Patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that h...

S6 Ep19: Pancreatic Cancer Approval, Expert Discussion on Cancer Vaccine Development

Last week, we saw some FDA approvals for a new drug regimens, as well as some expert opinion about cancer vaccines. Additionally research touched upon the potential benefit of concurrent ctDNA and tumor testing, and physical activity for pain reduction in cancer survivors.  FDA Approves Onivyde as First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Onivyde plus oxaliplatin, fluorouracil and leucovorin — a regimen referred to as NALIRIF...

S6 Ep18: Guidelines for Childhood Neuroblastoma, FDA Decisions and More

Last week, we saw a few moving parts in the regulatory space, from new NCCN guidelines for pediatric neuroblastoma treatment to FDA Fast Tracks and Priority Reviews. Also last week, we covered research showing that a lower dose of an anti-emetic drug could have similar efficacy — and fewer side effects — than the standard, higher dose.  NCCN Guidelines Give Framework for Childhood Neuroblastoma Treatment The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recently published guidelines for the treatm...

S6 Ep17: FDA, Cancer Vaccine Updates and a Misguiding of Breast Cancer Treatment

Last week, we saw some research regarding how a popular tool used to plan breast cancer treatment may be misguiding therapy for Black women, as well as an update on when we can expect to see a new cancer vaccine be readily available for patients.  And on the FDA front, we’ll discuss a priority review for Enhertu for patients with HER2-positive solid cancers, as well as a fast track designation for a new drug duo in the lung cancer space.  Cancer Vaccine Likely ‘Several Years’ Away From Wid...

S6 Ep16: Highlights from the Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Cancer Conferences

It’s been a busy few weeks here at CURE® and in the oncology space as a whole, as the last two weekends had back-to-back meetings: the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, and then their Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.  Here are some highlights from the conference, but as always, you can find all of our coverage at curetoday.com.  Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium  Imfinzi, Avastin, TACE May ‘Set a New Standard of Care’ in Liver Cancer For patient...

S6 Ep15: Prostate Cancer Headlines, CAR-T Warnings and Laughter Therapy

Last week, we saw some big headlines in the oncology space, from Dexter Scott King’s death from prostate cancer and MLB Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg announcing that he was diagnosed with the disease.  The FDA also requested a label update for CAR-T cell therapies that would warn patients and providers about secondary malignancies that have been reported from the treatment. Also, we took a look at laughter therapy, and how it could help patients and caregivers.  We’ve also been busy covering...

S6 Ep14: How a Cancer Journey Connects Oncologist to His Patients

Often, receiving a cancer diagnosis can require a crash course in oncology that few patients ever expected to take. For colorectal cancer specialist Dr. Dustin Deming, the ACI/Schwenn Family associate professor in the division of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, a diagnosis of rectal cancer two weeks after receiving his first faculty appointment required an education of a different sort. Deming, a gastrointestinal oncologist and l...

S6 Ep13: A Chance of Cure for Cervical Cancer, Lymphedema Treatment Act and More

It wasn’t even two weeks into the new year when the Food and Drug Administration made their first FDA approval. In this case, it was a Keytruda regimen for certain patients with gynecologic cancers. We at CURE® spoke with an the primary investigator on the study leading to the approval about what patients need to know about the latest new indication.  Also last week, we highlighted the Lymphedema Treatment Act and spoke to an expert about the new law.  Another story in the regulatory space...

S6 Ep12: FDA Gives Cancer Drug Updates, Prostate Cancer Trial Enrolls Patients

This week in oncology news, we saw a few decisions from the Food and Drug Administration, ranging from the agency agreeing to review a drug and potentially grant it a full approval to their citing manufacturing concerns for a gastric cancer drug.  Additionally, a small study showed 100% disease control rate in a subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and a clinical evaluation of a new prostate cancer drug will continue to enroll patients.  FDA Accepts sBLA For Tivdak in Recurrent or Metastatic C...

S6 Ep11: ‘Stand Up For Yourself’: Facing Thyroid Cancer With Urgency, Positivity

Kate Rice is proof of the power of persistence and positivity while navigating a cancer journey. Rice, an award-winning journalist, received a diagnosis of stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer in October 2021 — and quickly applied the same dogged dedication that had served her reporting in support of her own survival. “When I was a reporter, none of my sources or desired sources could escape me. Sooner or later, they were going to have to talk to me, I just have that kind of determination,” R...

S6 Ep10: FDA Stops Lung Cancer Trial, CAR-T Cell Therapy Is Cost Effective, Novel Drug Slows Fibrosis

The year 2024 is now underway. After a busy 2023, we’re now looking back at some of the oncology headlines from the new year.  Notably, we have a clinical trial hold for a lung cancer drug, a trial that showed that a CAR-T cell therapy is cost-effective — though far from cheap — for lymphoma treatment, and a novel drug that’s showing promise for the treatment of myelofibrosis.  FDA Places Hold on Trial Evaluating TIL Therapy in NSCLC The Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold...

S6 Ep9: Top Cancer Headlines from 2023: From Jimmy Buffett’s Death to the Chemo Shortage

The year 2023 has come and gone, and we figured that now is the perfect time to look back on some of the top cancer-related stories from the year.  Vitamin D May Impact Colorectal Cancer Outcomes In June, we spoke to an expert about research that analyzed 14 studies on vitamin D and colorectal cancer outcomes. Findings showed that people who had a vitamin D deficiency tended to have poorer mortality outcomes than those who supplemented with vitamin D.  Laura Bolte, of the department of ga...

S6 Ep8: FDA Approves 3 Treatments, Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise

The FDA is certainly staying busy as 2023 comes to a close, approving three treatments for patients with cancer last week alone. Additionally, exciting study findings were released regarding a cancer vaccine for the treatment of melanoma. FDA Approves Iwilfin for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Adults and Children The FDA approved has Iwilfin (eflornithine) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who have shown at least a partial response to a previous mu...

S6 Ep7: Conference Highlights from the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting

This past weekend, the CURE® staff was busy covering the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. ASH is the largest blood cancer conference in the country, and thousands of abstracts were presented. Now, we’re bringing you some of the highlights from the conference. And, to view all of our conference coverage, be sure to check out curetoday.com/conference Navitoclax Plus Jakafi Improves Spleen Volume Reductions in Myelofibrosis Spleen enlargement is a common and often proble...

S6 Ep6: Conference Highlights from SABCS

The last week was a busy one for us here at CURE® and across the oncology space in general. There were two major meetings we covered: the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.  The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium — also known as SABCS — features breast cancer research conducted around the globe. We had editors on the ground in San Antonio, as well as back in our office covering the meeting. Here are some highlights from SABCS.  And, ...

S6 Ep5: Top Headlines on CAR-T Cell Therapy

Blood cancer treatments — and one treatment type, in particular — were the point of much discussion last week. The FDA said that it is investigating instances of secondary malignancies in patients with blood cancers treated with CAR-T cell therapy. Also, the drug manufacturer for a novel CAR-T cell therapy submitted an application to introduce the treatment into the United States market.  Blood cancers will continue to be a hot topic this week, as later in the week we’ll be covering the Ame...

S5 Ep35: Fertility Research ‘Long Overdue’ for Patients With Cervical Cancer

For patients with cervical cancer who are negative for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with normal or low-grade cytology, a prolonged follow-up interval of six months could be offered six to 24 months after receiving fertility-sparing surgery, according to the findings of a recent study. Researchers, writing in a study published in The Lancet Oncology, noted that patients who are negative for high-risk HPV and have normal or low-grade cytology — a type of screening that collects cervic...

S6 Ep4: Diabetes Affects CRC Outcomes, Vitamin D May Prevent Neuropathy

The end of the year typically brings a number of FDA approvals, and 2023 is no different. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug, Augyro (repotrectinib) for the treatment of patients with ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer.  Also making oncology headlines this week, is an expert update on the cancer drug shortage, research about how the severity of diabetes can impact colorectal cancer outcomes and how vitamin D may be able to mitigate the severity of chemothe...

S5 Ep34: ‘Queer Eye’ Star Thom Filicia on Bone Marrow Donation and Myelofibrosis

It’s been a decade since Thom Filicia, acclaimed interior designer and former co-star of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” served as a bone marrow donor for his brother, Jules, who had received a diagnosis of myelofibrosis. “It was a disease I knew nothing about, I’d never even heard of it before,” Filicia told CURE®. “So that, in and of itself, was a very unusual situation, to have to navigate that. … In (Jules’) situation, we needed to move very quickly. And, in his case, the most appropr...

S6 Ep3: Cancer and Burn Pits, FDA Updates and Provider A Doctor’s on Medicare

Last week was Veterans’ Day, and for some individuals in the armed service, that means reflecting back on their service, as well as the potential cause of their cancer. For both print and web-first features, CURE® spoke with veterans about their cancer journeys, including one Iraq veteran whose cancer was likely caused by exposure during his deployment overseas.  Regarding new drug indications last week, the FDA seemed to be working in the gastrointestinal space: we saw a new drug approved ...

S6 Ep2: An Update on the Cancer Drug Shortage, FDA Approvals and Cervical Cancer

Last week brought the approval of two new cancer therapies, as well as some data about the ongoing cancer drug shortage and which groups of patients may be affected most. Also, CURE® spoke to an expert about how sexual activity — while not a requirement — may help follow-up exams be more comfortable for cervical cancer survivors.  In this episode we’re looking back at the top oncology news from last week, and brining patients the information they need to know.  Patients on Medicaid Disprop...

S5 Ep33: Navigating an Advanced Kidney Cancer Diagnosis: Insights from a Genitourinary Cancer Specialist

Meet Dr. Ulka Vaishampayan* – an oncologist and leading expert in treating people with kidney cancer, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC) which is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. She understands all too well how scary and overwhelming hearing the words “you have cancer” can be for anyone – especially when facing an advanced diagnosis in RCC. In these cases, Dr. Vaishampayan believes that information is power and people can feel better prepared to move forward if they have ...

S5 Ep32: Author, Cancer Survivor Channeled Her Grief Into a Series of Books

Charlene Wexler has turned profound grief into a world of stories. Wexler is the Chicago-based author of seven books as well as several short stories. Inspiration for what would become her 2014 debut novel, “Lori,” arrived following the loss of her son, Jeffrey, who received a diagnosis of leukemia in 1977 at the age of eight and died in 1981 at the age of 12. “I always wrote for myself, and writing fiction is a new career. I started about 10 years ago,” said Wexler, who is now 80 years ol...

S6 Ep1: Cancer Data from European Conference May Lead to FDA Approvals

Last week, the European Society of Medical Oncology (EMSO) held their annual Congress in Madrid. The conference brought together cancer researchers from around the globe, who presented their clinical trial data — some of which has the potential to change the way cancers are treated.  For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves therapies based on study data that proves that the regimen in question is safe, effective and superior to what is currently being used in that indica...

S5 Ep31: ‘For Me, Every Month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month’

For patients with metastatic breast cancer, the annual October observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month can bring a complex mix of emotions. “I think a lot of the messaging in October tends to focus on pink, and it almost looks a little sparkly,” said Sally Joy Wolf, who first received a diagnosis of breast cancer eight years ago before learning it had metastasized five years ago. Wolf, to be clear, doesn’t think there is any malicious intent behind what she described as the “sea of pin...

S5 Ep30: ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Reconstruction’ Author Empowers Patients With Information

S5 Ep29: Former Opera Singer Shares Bone Cancer Journey in New Book

For opera singer Kathleen Watt, a life-changing cancer journey began during an otherwise routine trip to her family dentist. In January of 1997 when Watt was 43 years old, the examination of a bump in the gumline at the back of her upper jaw eventually led to Watt receiving a diagnosis of the bone cancer osteosarcoma, which would be followed by treatment that included chemotherapy and a decade-long process of facial reconstruction. “A small corps of medical elites convened to excoriate my ...

S5 Ep28: Musician Andrew McMahon on Setlists, Surfing and Surviving Cancer

For Andrew McMahon, a singer-songwriter and cancer survivor, the act of forgetting an anniversary was a good thing. Alongside his band, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness, he was set to play the inaugural Adjacent festival on the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 27, part of a daily lineup that included Paramore, Jimmy Eat World and Bleachers.  The date of the festival coincided with a landmark moment in his cancer journey, which began in 2005. Before the end of a tour as part of Ja...

S5 Ep27: Retired Teacher Turns to Former Student for Innovative Bladder Cancer Care

It’s been more than 35 years since Peter Kahan and Dr. Ravi Munver first met. Back then, they were a teacher and his student, respectively. These days, the two men remain connected, but their relationship has evolved — Munver is now a key member of Kahan’s bladder cancer care team. “To have to have a somebody who really looks upon you as a friend as (your) doctor, (who) really can see you as more than just another patient is great,” said Kahan, who described his connection with Munver, a ur...

S5 Ep26: Author, Five-Time Cancer Survivor Shares His Experiences in New Book

Bill C. Potts, author of the book “Up for the Fight,” lends his experiences and knowledge about cancer to his readers as a five-time cancer survivor.  “In September of 2020, I woke up from surgery to remove a really painful tumor in below my right hip,” Potts told CURE® during an exclusive interview. “And I had an emotional breakdown, when I was waking up from the surgery in the recovery room, and they called in the pastor and we talked through a lot of things, including the reasons why I s...

S5 Ep25: How a Stage 4 Breast Cancer and Her Family ‘Focus on the Living’

It’s been nearly a decade since Christina McAmis began her journey with stage 4 breast cancer. At the time, she was a 32-year-old married mother of three, including twin boys and a baby daughter, and had recently begun studying at a California law school. “All sorts of positive, amazing things were coming together into what I thought was going to be the happiest time of my life,” she told CURE®. While breastfeeding her six-month-old daughter, McAmis found a lump, approximately half of the ...

S5 Ep24: Latinas Contra Cancer ‘Holds Space for Patients to Become Powerful’

The work continues, and evolves, for the team at Latinas Contra Cancer as the service and advocacy organization working with Latino patients with cancer approaches its 20th anniversary later this year. “The needs have changed,” executive director Darcie Green, who has been with the organization for five years, told CURE®. “It's important for organizations to do this continuous check-in to see, 'Is our mission still needed? Have parts of it been accomplished, have the needs of the people we'...

S5 Ep23: With 35 Rounds of Chemo and Counting, Author Shares Appendiceal Cancer Journey in New Book

William S. Laird gives readers an enlightening, inspiring and unflinching look at his journey with appendiceal cancer in the memoir “Not Me, Cancer,” now available via Archway Publishing. “I wrote this book when I was on chemo,” Laird tells CURE. “And I told my wife one day, I said, ‘I'm gonna write a book about this experience.’ And of course, I got a pump on my side, and she's looking at me like I'm a little bit crazy, because I'm not an author. And she was kind of like ‘Oh well,’ or not ...

S5 Ep22: Mike Peters of The Alarm Faces Cancer With Rock Optimism on New Album

Mike Peters, the singer and guitarist of Welsh rockers The Alarm, gives fans an inside perspective of his cancer journey on “Forwards,” the band’s new album arriving via The Twenty First Century Recording Company on June 2. Peters wrote his band’s latest LP while hospitalized for leukemia — often using members of his care team as an unofficial sounding board for the new material. Peters’ two-month hospital stay in 2022 was the latest chapter of his cancer journey. He received a diagnosis of...

S5 Ep21: Doctor, Cancer Survivor and Marathoner Goes the Distance for Her Patients: ‘Now I Can Just Give’

There’s no stopping Dr. Dawn Mussallem. Mussallem — a lifestyle medicine and integrative breast cancer specialist at the Robert and Monica Jacoby Center for Breast Health at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida — is a cancer survivor, a recipient of both bone marrow and heart transplants, a mother and a marathon runner. Mussallem explained to CURE® how her own life experiences have helped her connect with patients on health journeys of their own. “Going through what you go through, it...

S5 Ep20: Olympian Shares Her Cancer Experience: ‘Give Yourself Grace’

It took a 15-minute doctor’s appointment to change Shannon Miller’s life.  Miller, a two-time Olympic gymnast who earned seven medals, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer in January 2011. She first had surgery to have a baseball-sized tumor removed from her ovary before undergoing aggressive chemotherapy.    Throughout this experience, she tapped into her competitive and hardworking nature as an athlete to get her through the experience.  “There are so many lessons that I le...

S5 Ep19: Young, Healthy People Get Cancer Too

Before being diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer at the age of 34, Jennifer Broxterman was constantly told that she was young and healthy — but the registered dietitian knew that something was off. 

S5 Ep18: How an MLM Urged One Survivor to Use Her Cancer Diagnosis to Push Products

At the time of her cervical cancer diagnosis in 2015, Emily Lynn Paulson was involved in a multi-level marketing (MLM) company — a business where individuals sign up to sell products, and then are encouraged to recruit others to distribute under them.  “When I got the diagnosis, I thought ‘OK, I’m going to have to step back and take a break from this,” Paulson said in an interview with CURE®. “I was really encouraged by the people in my upline (saying), ‘Use this to your advantage. You’re g...

S5 Ep17: The Sport of Cancer: How One Survivor Related Ironman Training and Colorectal Cancer

Teri Griege completed an Ironman triathlon in 2009, and less than a month later received a stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis. In this episode of Cancer Horizons, she shared her story. 

S5 Ep16: Teaching Children — and the World — to Use Breathing Techniques for Cancer-Related Pain

In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, “Rabbi G” discusses his global travels to teach breathwork to children with cancer, and gives an exercise listeners can use to decrease their pain and anxiety. 

S5 Ep15: Creating an Advocacy Group at the Onset of a Global Pandemic: KRAS Kickers Founder Shares Her Story

Lung cancer survivor Terri Conneran shares her story of creating a non-profit to help connect with fellow patients and survivors who have the KRAS biomarker. 

S5 Ep14: Childhood Cancer Survivor Pays It Forward at the Same Hospital She Received Treatment

A childhood cancer survivor now works raising funds for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the same hospital where she received treatment for Ewing sarcoma at 12 years old.  

S5 Ep13: Welireg Made a von Hippel-Lindau Survivor Feel Like a ‘Medical Miracle’

When Sean Korbitz was a 20-year-old college student, his life trajectory changed with a rare cancer diagnosis, resulting in the removal of 40 tumors; fifteen years later, a new drug made him feel like a “medical miracle.”  

S5 Ep12: Creating a Charity 8 Days After a Rare Cancer Diagnosis: Dying Defiantly Founder Shares His Story

After Marshall Morris was diagnosed with a rare cancer and given only six months to live, he created a charity that empowers people with terminal illness and provides them with counseling and support. 

S5 Ep11: A Nurse and Parent Explains Navigating Pediatric Oncology During COVID-19

A nurse shares what it was like when her daughter was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

S5 Ep10: From a 15-Month Prognosis to 17 Years of Survivorship: Heather Von St. James' Mesothelioma Story

A 17-year survivor shares her experience getting diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer, at 36, when people with this cancer are typically diagnosed at a much older age and given months to live. 

S5 Ep9: Writing a Book Helped a Survivor Process Fears of Cancer Recurrence

For Tara Rolle, the treatment was the easy part of her cancer experience.  Diagnosed with small-cell neuroendocrine cervical cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, at 37, Rolle was initially shocked but then jumped into planning mode. She rallied her family for support, figured out the most appropriate way to explain the situation to her teenage daughter and even managed to continue her job as a San Francisco school superintendent while undergoing treatment.  At The University of Te...

S5 Ep8: From Volunteer to Patient to Advocate: How a Breast Cancer Survivor’s Life Has Changed Over the Years

Kelly Thomas wasn’t expecting to be on this side of the breast cancer experience.  Thomas worked in finance and the company she was employed at regularly partnered with the American Cancer Society. Throughout the years, she routinely volunteered to collect donations for the American Cancer Society during breast cancer walks.      Despite not having a family history of breast cancer, she remained diligent about self-exams but never noticed anything. Everything changed one December morning...