Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

At the 2024 Annual Recognition Awards, the wide range of work that drives Dana-Farber excellence was on display. The staff recognized included people who are expanding Dana-Farber's outreach to underserved communities, supporting and mentoring research staff, managing the schedules of Institute leaders, and drafting guidelines for genetic testing, just to name a portion of their responsibilities. "We continue to build something truly special here,” President and CEO Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, told the staff who had gathered virtually to celebrate. “I am incredibly proud and grateful that we have all of you working together making Dana-Farber an even better place for our patients.” Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief People Officer Heidi Conway noted that Human Resources had a tough task this year of sorting through and narrowing down 209 nominations for 95 individuals for the awards. But she pointed out that it’s a good problem to have. The figure reflects the depth of talent and culture of gratitude at Dana-Farber. “The amount of magnificent work that is being done every day is overwhelming,” she said. Each award represents a core value of Dana-Farber's mission: impact, excellence, compassion and respect, discovery, and equity and inclusion. Departments honored ranged from pediatric palliative care to quality and patient safety, the cancer care equity program, and ambulatory clinical operations. Two new awards were added this year: The Discovery Award, honoring the spirt of innovation, and the Inclusion Diversity, Equity and Allyship Award, which celebrates those who embody inclusiveness and demonstrate allyship with patients, families, and colleagues. Congratulations to this year's recipients! 🌟 Administrative Support Professionals of the Year  amelia careghini, Carlie Hankard, Ariel Manning, Alexis Tice Manager of the Year  Ellen Casey-Magleby, Kim Craig, Maura Dacey, RN, Kimberley MacNeill Anne L. Levine Advocacy & Outreach Award  Tia Goodman & The Mammography Team (Nina Castilla, Luz Munguia-Hernandez, Joceneia Timas, Sujeila Trujillo) Community Service Award  Rachel Freedman, MD, MPH Discovery Award  Jason Pyrdol, Anna Revette, PhD Ed Benz People & Culture Award  David Jackman, MD, Deborah Toffler, MSW, LCSW Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship Award Gabrielle Ernst, MS, Diane Koeller, MS, MPH, CGC, Emerald Littlejohn, Minyu Denise Ma Rowlee Award for Staff Excellence  Anna Justis, PhD,  Charmine Thales Manuel, Pann Nwe, Michael Quinn

How do you know if you're at higher risk for skin cancer? Family history and increased sun and UV exposure raise skin cancer risk. Elizabeth Buchbinder, MD, senior physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, breaks down the risk factors for skin cancer.

Telemedicine visits for cancer care may not only be more convenient and easier to schedule than in-person appointments, they're also better for the planet, new research by Dana-Farber scientists shows. Based on an analysis of data from a regional cancer center, the researchers calculate that, nationwide, cancer care that utilizes telehealth and local care would generate 33.1% less greenhouse gas emissions than the traditional model of in-person care, primarily due to reduced travel to medical appointments. The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and published in JAMA Oncology, suggest that an approach to care adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic can have significant environmental benefits. "While health care in the United States provides health benefits to many people, it generates substantial amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change and inadvertently harm health," says Andrew Hantel, MD, who led the study with Gregory Abel, MD, MPH, and Jonathan Slutzman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital. "We wanted to explore the potential reductions in emissions that can be achieved with a decentralized approach to cancer care that includes telehealth. To do so, we used data generated during the 'natural experiment' of the pandemic, when care shifted from an in-person to a telemedicine-preferred model." The researchers calculated the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per visit-day at Dana-Farber during two time periods: March-December 2020, when the pandemic prompted the Institute to shift largely to telemedicine; and March 2015-February 2020, when a traditional in-person model was in place. (A visit-day is the combined visits a person has at a healthcare facility in a single day.) They began by listing all the components of a clinical visit, both in-person and telehealth. For in-person visits, that includes everything that happens from the time a patient leaves home for an appointment until the time they return – such as driving to the hospital, parking the car, taking the elevator to the clinic, using hand sanitizer, using the bathroom, and driving back home. They also factored in the use of electricity for lights and computers, even the paper that covers the exam room table. Using a variety of databases, they then determined the carbon dioxide emissions associated with each of these. For telehealth visits, there were far fewer aspects to track – mainly, computer and internet usage by the patient and clinician. They found that per visit-day emissions of carbon dioxide at Dana-Farber were 36.4 kilograms lower during the telemedicine period than the in-person period, an 81.3% decline. They then calculated what emissions levels in the pre-pandemic period would have been if telemedicine had been in place and extrapolated it to the whole U.S. population. More: https://lnkd.in/eckUZHGC

Stem cell transplants are a powerful treatment for blood-related cancers and conditions. Our Adult Stem Cell Transplant Program has performed over 11,600 transplants, and our expertise ensures top-notch care during and after recovery. Click the link to read more about stem cell transplants: http://ms.spr.ly/6049lp2Af

“Perdí a mi papá cuando tenía 13 años. Siendo todavía un niño, no sabía el gran impacto que esto tendría en mi vida. Cualquier cosa que pueda hacer para ponchar al cáncer, lo haré.” –Alex Cora, mánager de Boston Red Sox El 13 y 14 de agosto sintonice el Radio Teletón WEEI Sports Radio Network/NESN Jimmy Fund patrocinado por Arbella Insurance Group y escuche cómo su apoyo ayuda a forjar el futuro de la investigación y de los tratamientos para el cáncer de los pacientes de Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

"I lost my dad when I was 13. As a kid, I didn't realize how big of an impact that would have on me. Whatever I can do to help strike out cancer, I will do it." –Alex Cora, manager of the Boston Red Sox Hear how your support has helped shape the future of cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute patients by tuning into the WEEI Sports Radio Network/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon presented by Arbella Insurance Group on August 13-14.

In a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dana-Farber's Mahasweta Gooptu, MD and a CIBMTR research team found that using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in HLA-matched and mismatched unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplants improves survival and expands stem cell transplant access for patients of all ancestries. Read more here: http://ms.spr.ly/6049lpN7z

Join us to discuss the new cancer hospital proposed by Dana-Farber. The Boston Planning and Development Agency will hold a joint IMP Task Force/Community Meeting to review Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s recently submitted Institutional Master Plan (IMP) on July 29, 2024, at 6 pm via Zoom. This meeting is an opportunity for the IMP Task Force and the public to review Dana-Farber’s IMP, which includes a new cancer hospital. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the IMP and identify any potential impacts. The meeting will include a presentation followed by questions and comments from the Task Force and the public. To register to attend the meeting: http://ms.spr.ly/6043lrX7J

Physician-scientist Franziska Wachter, MD, came to Dana-Farber 10 years ago as a postdoctoral fellow with a vision. In the clinic, she cares for children with hard-to-treat cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In the laboratory, her eyes are on the molecular drivers of the disease. “I try to connect the two roles as much as I can,” explains Wachter. “I often treat patients with a high chance of relapse. My hope is to find a way to prevent the leukemia from coming back.” Learn more here: http://ms.spr.ly/6040lOjRq

Above all else, clinical research is about action – moving promising findings from the lab to patient care. The same can now be said about addressing disparities in clinical trial participation: that such disparities exist is well documented; the question going forward is how to reduce them. The 11th annual Cancer Research Disparities Symposium organized by Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) focused on what's being done – and needs to be done – to increase racial and ethnic minority enrollment in cancer clinical trials. Participants in the online event spoke from their experience as researchers, patients, and clinicians in advancing trial equity. In her opening remarks, Karen Burns White, MS, deputy associate director of Cancer Equity and Community Engagement at DF/HCC, described inclusivity in trial participation as not only as a matter of equity but also of ensuring that trial results are broadly relevant. "Diversity in clinical trials is essential to ensure that everyone benefits from medical advances and is a key factor in eliminating health care disparities across populations," she said. "Acknowledgement of disparities is just the beginning of the solution. Let's move beyond awareness and be open to recognizing that racism can and does perpetuate underrepresentation." The event's keynote speaker, Robert Winn, MD, director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, spoke directly to that challenge. Noting that racial and ethnic inequities in health care have been studied since the early 1900s, he asked, "How is it that we've known and recognized these inequities all this time and they still stand?" Disparities have persisted even in the face of research showing that biology often plays a smaller role than access to quality health care in patient outcomes, he remarked. Noting that "poverty in itself is a carcinogen," Winn described his efforts to broaden participation in cancer drug trials. He launched a scholarship program that seeks to build bridges between those who develop clinical trials and those who do community outreach. The symposium also included a conversation between Brenda Lormil-Raymond MSN, FNP-C, an equity nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital, and two African American patients about their clinical trial experiences. That was followed by a panel discussion with Dana-Farber's Glenn Hanna, MD, Andrew Hantel, MD, and Ivy Tillman, EdD, CIP, executive director of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research. “Everyone is looking for the magic solution to improve access to clinical trials for marginalized communities. In fact, what it takes is a willingness to engage communities where they are and a commitment to eliminating known barriers," said Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH, chief clinical access and equity officer, who helped lead the symposium. "The question is whether cancer centers have the will to change. Time will tell.”