What is Targeted Molecular Cancer Therapy for Lung Cancer?

Targeted molecular cancer therapy is a type of personalized lung cancer treatment designed to interrupt the unique molecular abnormalities that make cancer grow.Targeted molecular cancer therapy uses personalized drugs that are designed for each individual through the rigorous analysis of their tumor's unique molecular makeup, or “fingerprint.” These targeted therapies have the potential to cause less impact on normal cells and bring about fewer...

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Center for Personalized Diagnostic Medicine Brings Next Generation of Sequencing to Melanoma Screening

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer Conferences. In this blog, she discusses personalized medicine and melanoma.Dr. David Elder, MD, a pathologist noted that the newly formed Penn Center for Personalized Diagnostic Medicine will utilize a new gene panel that screens for 41 different gene mutations that can be found in malignant melanomas. This next generation screening can be done with a smaller amount of DNA than the more limited gene screening...

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Advances in Personalized Therapies for Melanoma

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer Conferences. In this blog, she discusses advances in personalized therapy for melanoma patients.Anyone who has attended all 10 of the Focus on Melanoma Conferences appreciates how much progress has been made in treating this disease over that span of time. Paul Chapman, MDIn his keynote address, Paul Chapman,...

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A New Treatment for Lymphedema at Penn Medicine {Video}

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer Conferences. In this blog, she discusses new treatments for lymphedema.Melanoma patients who undergo lymph node dissection have a 20 to 30 percent chance of developing lymphedema—a condition in which damaged or missing lymph nodes can no longer move fluid through the tissue. The fluid backs up and causes swelling, pain, decreased movement and increases the risk of infection and cellulitis. While many patients...

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Join Penn Medicine’s LIVESTRONG Challenge Team

The Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Philadelphia will once again take to the streets of Blue Bell and the surrounding countryside for what has become one of LIVESTRONG’s most successful fundraising events. This family-friendly event at the Montgomery County Community College offers participation and volunteer options for everyone, regardless of experience.On Saturday, August 17, join Penn Medicine’s LIVESTRONG Challenge team out on the 5K run/walk course...

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What is Roberts Proton Therapy for Lung Cancer?

Proton therapy for lung cancer uses beams of protons that are precisely directed at a lung tumor.The precision of proton therapy for lung cancer limits the radiation exposure of normal tissues while allowing a higher dose to be delivered to the tumor in the lung. The result is a better chance of curing lung cancer with fewer harmful side effects.One of the most unique aspects of proton therapy is its ability to treat people with a history of lung...

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What Happens After Cancer Treatment Ends?

There are more than 12 million cancer survivors living and thriving today as a result of advances in cancer treatment. However, cancer treatments can result in physical, emotional and financial complications long after the therapy is complete. Survivorship at Penn MedicineSurvivorship programs at Penn Medicine are a distinct phase of cancer care and are designed to help patients' transition from their cancer treatment routine to a post-cancer care...

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“A Firestorm of Progress”—The Road from Bench to Bedside

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer Conferences. In this blog, she discusses advances in melanoma research. The Wistar Institute is an independent research institution that has made remarkable contributions to science in its long history—especially in the fields of vaccines, cancer, and specifically melanoma. The collaboration between Wistar’s...

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What You Should Know About Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Cancer

If you are undergoing treatment for cancer, you may have heard about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).First, it’s important to distinguish the difference between complementary and alternative medicine.Complementary, or integrative medicine and wellness treatments supplement traditional cancer treatments such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery.For example, Reiki, a gentle, completely non-invasive practice that promotes integrated...

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Basser Quoted on Marie Claire and MedCityNews for BRCA Expertise

The Basser Center for BRCA Research's executive director Susan Domchek, MD and Abramson Cancer Center genetic counselor Jacquelyn Powers made headlines this week as major news outlets turned to Penn Medicine for an expert opinion. Read the headlines and quotes below: Marie Claire interviewed Domchek for an article about BRCA and Jolie’s decision: Angelina Jolie: I had a double mastectomy "We know from our research that having a prophylactic (preventative) mastectomy is the most effective way to for women who carry BRCA1/2 mutations to reduce...

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What Does Skin Cancer Look Like? {and what you need to know about melanoma}

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer Conferences. In this blog, she discusses "What Does Skin Cancer Look Like?" and melanoma prevention basics.For most of the people attending Focus on Melanoma, the most important information pertains to advances in treatment, but for many others, it is critical to know how to prevent skin cancers and detect them...

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Chemical Sunscreen vs. Physical Sunscreen – What’s the Difference?

It’s no secret that sunscreen offers the best protection against skin cancer next to staying out of the sun altogether or covering up with sun protective clothing. However, most people don’t realize that the kind of sunscreen we use is also important.There are two main kinds of sunscreen: chemical sunscreen and physical sunscreen. First, let’s take a look at how sunscreen works. How Sunscreen WorksA sunscreen is a compound (or lotion) that uses...

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Cancer-Fighting Recipe: Green Goddess Guacamole

Dietitian Carly Roop, RD, shares with us her idea of a beautiful spring wedding . Carly is a registered dietitian at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center (JKCC). She provides nutrition education and support to patients while addressing nutrition-related side effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Dietitians at JKCC provide educational nutrition programs that are open to patients as well as the community.In the past 5 years, gardening has become downright...

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