Category Cancer Patient Stories

Colon cancer patient embraces team approach at Dana-Farber

February 28, 2022

When Katie Kennedy was a young girl, one of her favorite things was seeing a Red Sox game at Fenway Park with her dad, Dan. It was there that Katie, now 52 and a patient at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was…

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Cervical cancer patient embraces life after navigating treatment

January 19, 2022

Patsy McSweeney did not expect her primary care visit at the end of 2019 to lead to a cancer diagnosis. At the time, she was enjoying life with her family in Maine, where they had lived for more than 15…

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Grateful patient hosts Jimmy FundRaiser to celebrate 20 years of survivorship

January 18, 2022

Andrea McGrath moved to Boston after completing graduate school in the late 1990s, unaware at the time of how important it would be to be in the Longwood area, close to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Unlike many other patients who would…

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Runner, sister gives back to Dana-Farber through B.A.A. 5K

December 21, 2021

Jenny Thurber grew up with a dedication to giving back, and as she got older and more people in her life were diagnosed with cancer, her volunteering and philanthropy efforts focused more and more on cancer research and care. But…

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Full-circle moment for granddaughter and nurse

December 3, 2021

Meredith Bertoni, a Clinical Research Coordinator at Dana-Farber working in the Center for Prevention of Progression for Hematologic Malignancies, is also the proud granddaughter of the late Al Wahlers, whom she called “Dah” before he passed away in 2020 at…

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Mother and daughter use yoga to keep mom strong, healthy during cancer treatment

November 18, 2021

To recognize Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we spoke with Barbara Ackerman, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute patient, and her daughter, Jessica. Barbara is currently undergoing treatment at Dana-Farber for stage IV lung cancer. Barbara, can you tell us a bit about…

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Having fun—and giving back—in Aniketh’s memory

November 17, 2021

Whenever Ramakrishna Chivukula and Soujanya Mallapragada asked their son Aniketh how his day at school was, the answer was always an enthusiastic “FUN!” Despite being in treatment for a pediatric brain tumor’s side effects and treatment complications for seven years,…

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