cancer

Proton beam therapy can precisely target tumors to avoid harming surrounding tissue, advocates say.

Health & Safety

Insurers Cautious As Proton Beam Cancer Therapy Gains Popularity

10:04am September 25, 2014

by Michelle Andrews

Supporters of the controversial, high-priced treatment say routine coverage would help propel research that would support its use. Skeptics say that approach is backward.

Health & Safety

Foods That Support Cancer Patients

6:11pm June 16, 2014

A Triad group is helping people fight cancer one bite at a time.

Dr. Jim Olson meets with Carver Faull at Seattle Children's Hospital in August. Carver, now 12, had surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2012.

Treating Kids' Cancer With Science And A Pocket Full Of Hope

10:02am April 22, 2014

by Joe Palca

Lessons in optimism from very ill children inspire pediatric oncologist Jim Olson in his hunt for better treatments for brain tumors.

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Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in the West, while lung and liver cancers are the top problems in Asia.

Cancer Cases Rising At An Alarming Rate Worldwide

8:20am February 05, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

The long-held idea that cancer is a disease of the rich is slowly being undermined. The world now records about 14 million new cancer cases each year, a study found. The majority of these cases occur in developing countries, which aren't equipped to detect and treat the disease.

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Physician Jim Olson cares for children with brain cancer in Seattle. His laboratory studies the gene expression programs controlling neural differentiation, brain tumor genesis and neurodegenerative diseases.

Why Painting Tumors Could Make Brain Surgeons Better

6:58am September 12, 2013

by Joe Palca

Cut a tumor from a child's brain and you may save a life. But surgery can hurt the child if healthy brain cells are removed. A Seattle doctor is working on a substance that might help. It binds tightly to cancer cells and makes them glow, so they're easier to distinguish from healthy tissue.

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Some images of lung cancer are clear cut. But in many others, a nodule on the screen turns out not to be cancer at all.

Panel Urges Lung Cancer Screening For Millions Of Americans

2:24pm August 22, 2013

by Richard Knox

Most people get diagnosed with lung cancer when it's too late to effectively treat it. A federal panel is trying to improve the odds by saying that longtime smokers and former smokers should get annual CT scans to check for lung cancer.

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Sally O'Neill decided to have a double mastectomy rather than "do a wait-and-see."

When Treating Abnormal Breast Cells, Sometimes Less Is More

11:39am August 06, 2013

The question of how to treat ductal carcinoma in situ is roiling the medical profession, and making for tough choices for women. The condition may never become invasive cancer. But some women choose to have mastectomies rather than live with uncertainty.

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Laura Molina, 9, shows the mask she created expressing the feeling of "sadness." Her mother is being treated for breast cancer at the Lyndon B. Johnson public hospital in Houston.

Parents Grapple With Explaining Cancer To Children

7:08pm July 30, 2013

by Carrie Feibel

When a parent finds out he or she has cancer, one of the most difficult conversations to have may be with the children. Two programs in Houston teach children and parents how to deal with the emotions that arise throughout the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

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A 13-year-old girl gets an HPV vaccination from Judith Schaechter, a pediatrician at the University of Miami, in 2011.

Vaccine Against HPV Has Cut Infections In Teenage Girls

10:18pm June 19, 2013

by Richard Knox

A vaccine against a virus that causes cervical cancer has cut infections among teenage girls by over half in the first four years of use, scientists report. Only about one-third of girls in that age group have received the recommended shots.

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STAR-certified physical therapist Jennifer Goyette works with cancer patients at South County Physical Therapy in Westborough, Mass.

Cancer Rehab Begins To Bridge A Gap To Reach Patients

6:42am February 18, 2013

by Rachel Gotbaum

Cancer patients often have to deal with side effects from their treatments. They may need speech therapy or help rebuilding their strength. The STAR program is helping break down the barriers to rehabilitation services.

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