Mike Hennessy, Sr.

Did you know that every three minutes someone receives a diagnosis of a blood cancer? According to the National Foundation for Cancer Research, blood cancers account for nearly 10% of new cancer diagnoses in the United States annually. That means that approximately 178,520 people will receive a diagnosis this year — most commonly with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. And although survival rates have increased dramatically over the past 20 years, there’s still a long way to go when it comes to this patient population.

In this special issue of CURE®, you’ll read about some of the research going on in blood cancer right now, including new treatment options for acute myeloid leukemia and a novel therapy using BK virus-specific T cells to treat BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis (a painful side effect of stem cell transplants).

Dive into the issue for two patient stories, one about a three-time acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivor who now works as a nurse on the bone marrow transplant floor at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), the tyrosine kinase inhibitor that saved Mel Mann. Who is Mel Mann? He is the longest-living survivor who was treated with the drug as a part of a clinical trial for chronic myeloid leukemia.

And because cancer is not a disease one should have to face alone, our cover story looks at the responsibilities and experiences of caregivers to patients with blood cancer. Not only will you read about what they’ve gone through, but you’ll also find extra resources and tips for navigating the patient-caregiver relationship.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

Articles

New research in blood cancer includes new treatment options for acute myeloid leukemia and a novel therapy using BK virus-specific T cells to treat BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis.

New Treatments and Tips for Dealing With Blood Cancer

What happens when a patient's disease stops responding to particular cancer treatments? As disheartening as it may feel, it’s no reason to lose hope. Today, different treatments are available along the cancer journey to provide options for patients.

Cancers can become resistant to treatment because patients are living longer and on treatment for years. In addition, cancer can evolve over time, changing how it responds to a particular treatment.

When a patient’s disease stops responding, doctors can usually, depending on the specific type of cancer, offer patients several options for a next treatment that will accommodate the patient’s needs and goals. Patients can also consider enrolling in clinical trials or obtaining a second opinion. No matter what option a patient selects, having a choice gives patients the opportunity to steer their cancer journey in the direction they want to go.

, we speak to two patients with cancer whose disease stopped responding to treatment. One patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer was responding well to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, but a year later, scans indicated swollen lymph nodes. She took the news in stride because she knew she had a targeted therapy option “in her back pocket,” so to speak, that she could use
next (it was originally explained and offered as a potential treatment after she received her biomarker test results). Another patient with advanced colorectal cancer that had spread to his lungs decided to get a second opinion about his next best treatment option after he had tried various treatments that were ineffective for the spots on his lungs, which continued to multiply. This patient believes the second opinion saved his life. We also speak with several experts who emphasize the importance of education and knowing your options when cancer stops responding to treatment.

In addition, a feature article examines not only the effects of cancer on a patient’s body but also the patient’s relationship with their partner. We speak with one couple whose relationship strengthened after the start of her Hodgkin lymphoma journey. We also learned another patient’s story involving a relationship that could not withstand the stress of her breast cancer journey. She was able to overcome body image issues and develop more confidence.

You’ll also meet two women who were pregnant when they received a diagnosis of cancer. Advances in care have made it more possible for women to be treated for cancer while pregnant, although it’s still a very difficult journey. Learn more about these women’s different outcomes as well as an ongoing, long-term, observational research study that has been collecting information about the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in pregnant women since 1997 — and continues to inform oncologists about what’s possible.

Also in this issue: the benefits of combination therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma; a nurse who climbed a mountain in Alaska with a group of patients, family members and advocates for multiple myeloma; and how quitting smoking after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis may still add years to your life.

When a patient’s disease stops responding, doctors can usually offer patients several options for a next treatment that will accommodate the patient’s needs and goals, or patients can consider a clinical trial.

Keeping Hope in Your Back Pocket as a Patient With Cancer

Surgery to remove cancer and even vital organs such as kidneys has been a mainstay of cancer treatment, but today, researchers are striving to find other options for patients. For example, nonsurgical treatments for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma include the use of immunotherapy (which uses one’s immune system to attack cancer cells) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (which block enzymes that aid in cancer growth).

Fifteen years ago, there weren’t many first-line treatment options for patients with this type of cancer, but now we have several — allowing patients and their oncologists to choose which treatment may work best for them.

In this special issue of CURE®, we spoke with a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who obtained a second opinion after experiencing tumor growth while on a combination of two immunotherapy drugs. His new doctors suggested he enroll in a clinical trial that was testing an immunotherapy drug with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. He enrolled and participated, which resulted in the cancer shrinking. “Every scan I had showed a decrease, and the overall reduction of my cancer was 54%,” he told CURE®. Two other patients interviewed for the story had similar experiences with the combination treatment, highlighting its effectiveness in treating this disease even in earlier stages.

In this issue, we also focus on preserving fertility in men diagnosed with testicular cancer. We spoke with one man who chose to bank sperm after receiving his diagnosis in 2013 because he and his wife were actively trying to have children. After undergoing treatment — and facing some issues with his specimens — he and his wife eventually had two beautiful daughters. Another man wasn’t concerned about having children when he received his testicular cancer diagnosis in his mid-20s, but he ended up adopting five children later in life. Despite this diagnosis, men have options when it comes to starting or growing their family.

In addition, you’ll meet an Army veteran with bladder cancer that may have been caused by Agent Orange exposure during his overseas tour of duty that included Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Veterans Affairs recently expanded its presumptive disease list for Agent Orange to include bladder cancer, which has been a long-awaited decision among the veteran community. “This is way overdue but so appreciated,” said the Army veteran.

This issue also includes articles on the potential benefit of active surveillance in patients with low-risk prostate cancer, the impact of the recent Food and Drug Administration approval of Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer and much more.

In this special issue of CURE®, we spoke with patients and health care providers about fertility issues, treatment advancements and other topics related to kidney, prostate, testicular and bladder cancers.

Inside the Shifting Treatment Landscape for Advanced Genitourinary Cancers

Was it natural zoonotic spillover that catapulted SARS-CoV-2 from an emerging virus into a pandemic pathogen or was it something much more sinister? Is it at all possible that a lab leak in Wuhan, China, was the spark that lit the fuse?

Debate and discussion about the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been at the forefront of the global consciousness since the first cases were reported in December 2019.

Early on, whispers of a potentially engineered virus quickly grew to a roar and fueled speculation that China was behind the pandemic. This narrative was so pervasive that, in February 2020, a group of 27 public health scientists 

 disputing the lab leak theory and announcing their support of their counterparts in China: the scientists, public health officials, and medical professionals combating the pandemic.

“The rapid, open, and transparent sharing of data on this outbreak is now being threatened by rumors and misinformation around its origins,” wrote the authors, who all declared no competing interests in their disclosures as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.”

And although it’s true that analyses of the genomic sequence of the virus subsequently pointed to natural origins, the questions regarding China’s role persisted, led by pesky discrepancies and conflicting reports.

Fast forward to June 2021 and new evidence that has breathed new life into those origin questions. In an update to the February 2020 letter, 

 an addendum with revised disclosure statements from virologist and investigator Peter Daszak, one of the 27 authors. In the revised document, Daszak noted that his remuneration is paid solely in the form of a salary from EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit research foundation of which he is president. The company has reportedly worked directly with Wuhan laboratories and funded gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Consider, too, other odd associations. Recent reports have uncovered financial ties between Google and EcoHealth Alliance. This comes after accusations that the tech giant was censoring lab leak “conspiracy theory” stories in its search results. Google’s health lead, David Feinberg, has dismissed those reports, insisting that the company is simply taking steps to protect users from unverified information.

Are these coincidences or “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” situations? It’s unclear. But they add to the bank of troublesome questions standing in the way of the truth about COVID-19.

The questions extend beyond origin theory, though. With the US Food and Drug Administration’s green lighting of vaccines for adolescents and young adults comes hesitation over long-term effects: What is the effect on fertility? Do the vaccines cause heart inflammation? Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the mRNA technology, appeared on television recently, expressing strong concern over the risk-benefit analysis of vaccination for young adults, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently met to discuss instances of myocarditis or pericarditis in people aged 30 and younger who have received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Of course, the answer to our ultimate question is that we may never know.

We may never know where this virus came from. We may never know what triggered the global pandemic that has claimed more than 3.8 million lives. And we won’t know the long-term effects until enough time has elapsed. What we do know for certain is that the incredible strength and collaboration of the scientific community have allowed us to regain some semblance of normalcy. The development and rollout of multiple effective vaccine options have been the medical miracle of our lifetime.

That, right now, will have to be the only answer that matters.

We may never know what triggered the global pandemic that has claimed more than 3.8 million lives. And we won’t know the long-term effects until enough time has elapsed. What we do know for certain is that the incredible strength and collaboration of the scientific community have allowed us to regain some semblance of normalcy.

Mike Hennessy, Sr.

New Treatments and Tips for Dealing With Blood Cancer

Keeping Hope in Your Back Pocket as a Patient With Cancer

Inside the Shifting Treatment Landscape for Advanced Genitourinary Cancers

Questions Linger Around COVID-19’s Origin

Latest News