cancer

Michael Robertson in his home on in Washington, D.C. Years ago, he didn't feel well and chalked it up to work stress. It was much more serious than that.

Health & Safety

The 30-Year Quest To Tame The 'Wily' Cancer Gene

2:38pm March 09, 2018

by Richard Harris

Scientists are trying to develop drugs to counteract an "undruggable" genetic variant that's responsible for about 30 percent of all cancer cases. It's high risk — high reward research.

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Shaorong Deng gets an experimental treatment for cancer of the esophagus that uses his own immune system cells. They have been genetically modified with the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR.

Doctors In China Lead Race To Treat Cancer By Editing Genes

11:58am February 21, 2018

by Rob Stein

More than a third of patients with cancer of the esophagus responded to experimental treatment in China with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. Several CRISPR studies are underway there.

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Books

A Stage-4 Cancer Patient Shares The Pain And Clarity Of Living 'Scan-To-Scan'

2:05pm February 12, 2018

by Terry Gross

Religion scholar Kate Bowler used to believe God had a plan for her life. Then she was diagnosed with incurable colon cancer. "I really had to rethink what trust and hope looks like," she says.

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Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler

What Not To Say To The Terminally Ill: 'Everything Happens For A Reason'

10:11am February 08, 2018

by Rachel Martin

Kate Bowler has lived with stage 4 cancer for years. Her new memoir details what she's found out about herself and suffering. "You have to learn to be present, even when things are absurd," she says.

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Chemotherapy has made a tremendous difference in survival rates for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer.

What's The 5-Year-Survival Rate For Cancer Patients Around The World?

10:50pm January 30, 2018

by Marc Silver

A new study looks at patient records for a variety of cancers from 71 countries. Some of the data is encouraging — and some is discouraging.

Kate Murphy felt frustrated by a lack of advice from doctors on how to use medical marijuana to mitigate side effects from her cancer treatment.

Cancer Patients Get Little Guidance From Doctors On Using Medical Marijuana

6:00am January 21, 2018

by Karen Weintraub

Side effects from cancer treatment lead many patients to ask their physicians about trying marijuana for relief. Even when the answer is yes, the details on what to do next can be sparse.

Scientists are trying to invent a blood test to diagnose cancer.

Scientists Edge Closer To A Blood Test To Detect Cancers

5:33pm January 18, 2018

by Richard Harris

This blood test detected signs of cancer in 70 percent of people with eight common forms of the disease. But it was much less good at identifying cancer in people in the early stages.

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Ben and Tara Stern relax at home in Essex, Md. Ben was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2016. After conventional treatment failed to stop the tumor, Ben tried an experimental drug.

For Now, Sequencing Cancer Tumors Holds More Promise Than Proof

3:17pm January 15, 2018

by Richard Harris

Sequencing the DNA of cancer tumors to help pinpoint treatment is an emerging element of precision medicine. While patients and doctors alike want these tests, they often don't benefit patients.

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Ariel Haughton's children Rose (left), 4, and Javier, 2, are covered by CHIP. Haughton is upset that lawmakers have left CHIP in flux for her two children and millions of kids around the country.

Health & Safety

Scramble Is On To Care For Kids If Insurance Coverage Lapses

12:26pm January 12, 2018

Doctors are telling families to refill prescriptions now. Other physicians are giving away drugs to make sure patients have enough if the Children's Health Insurance Program goes unfunded.

After decades of disappointment, doctors have been able to treat several different types of genetic conditions by giving each patient a healthy version of their defective gene.

Gene Therapy Shows Promise For A Growing List Of Diseases

1:09pm November 29, 2017

by Rob Stein

After decades of hope and disappointment, doctors have now been able to treat several different types of genetic conditions by giving each patient a healthy version of their defective gene.

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