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Cancer Patients Speak Out About The Farber Center

August 9th, 2011

A special thank you to our patients who were kind enough to speak out and tell their stories and allow us to put together this video. These patients are fighting breast cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, and brain cancer. We will have longer versions of the stories available soon on our website. Grace Huang directed the film, and Industrial color handled the post production.

About Grace Huang: You might remember her from our Rocks Against Cancer Video. Grace began her photography career at Harvard University, where she obtained a BA in Visual Environmental Studies under the tutelage of acclaimed fine art photographer Christopher James. After graduation, a Rotary International Fellowship afforded her the opportunity to spend an adventurous year in and around Provence while attending the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie. Settling in New York City, Grace began her professional photographic career shooting everything from fashion and beauty to lifestyle and travel for a wide range of magazines. Her signature style of cinematic storytelling and naturalistic spontaneity evolved over the next decade. Today she has a eclectic career shooting both stills and motion for a diverse editorial and advertising clientele. Her editorial clients include InStyle, British Marie Claire, Red, German InStyle, Self and Lucky. Her advertising clientele includes Dove, EOS, Mary Kay, St. Ives, Aveeno, Clinique, John Frieda, Cyzone, Gillette, Johnsons, Carefree, Hue, No Nonsense, Gardasil, Olay, Avon, Lilly Pulitzer, Liz Claiborne, Target, Godiva, Walmart and Saks Fifth Avenue. Grace has photographed a range of celebrities such as Krysten Ritter, Katrina Bowden, Poppy Delevingne, Bijou Phillips, Cory Kennedy, Jennifer Morrison, Carmen Electra, Julie Delpy, Jessica Simpson, Cynthia Rowley, Shiva Rose, Sarah Chalke, Elisha Cuthbert, Mia Tyler, Daisy Fuentes, Rhona Mitra, Whitney Port, Daveigh Chase, Sarah Wynter, B. Smith, Jesse Martin, Christy Turlington, Frederick Fekkai, Sergio Garcia, and Henrik Lundqvist.

About Industrial Color: From top tech and production support on over 10,000 shoots to inventing online digital photo workflow, Industrial Color continues to push the limits and develop industry standards. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, their talented team and extensive production capacity enables them to provide a full range of high-end services to clients whether it be in studio or on location anywhere around the globe. Services of Industrial Color include: digital still and RED and HD video capture, post-production, color and video editing services, archival printing, high-speed file transfer, online image management, archive and file storage.

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Posted in Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Skin Cancer, Uncategorized

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Almost Half of Older Post Mastectomy Patients Don’t Get Radiation

June 28th, 2011

Radiation treatment after a mastectomy for advanced breast cancer is part of the standard treatment guidelines. In the mid-1990s, several studies (Huang Study) concluded that mastectomy patients with advanced breast cancer have better outcomes if they undergo radiation after surgery. Initially, the medical community seemed to pay attention to the findings. As a result four organizations had issued guidelines about the value of radiation after mastectomy from 1999 to 2001: the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. From 1996 and 1998, the rates of radiation following mastectomy for women ages 66 and older increased from 36.5% to 57.7%. But in a review of data from 1998 to 2005, researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston found no further increase. But more than a decade after the lifesaving value of radiation was confirmed, about half of all women who should get radiation therapy aren’t getting it.

The new study, published in the journal Cancer, finds that 45.2% of older women found to have high-risk breast cancer between 1999 and 2005 did not receive additional post-mastectomy radiation treatment, despite the publication of major guidelines recommending the therapy. High risk patients were defined as Stage 3 breast cancers, patients with tumors 5 centimeters or larger and those where the tumor had spread to four or more lymph nodes.

What the study also found was that women who live in areas with a lot of radiation oncologists were 20% more likely to get radiation than women who did not. They contribute this to the particular challenge of older patients in getting daily radiation treatment for five or six weeks, especially those living in rural areas with limited access to transportation.

It is important for patients to have a discussion with their physician about the possibility of recurrence without radiation. It is important that the oncologist and breast surgeons have these challenging discussions to ensure the patient is aware of all the options and is getting the most appropriate care for them.

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Posted in Breast Cancer, Uncategorized

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Gay Men Face Extra Burden with Prostate Cancer

June 21st, 2011

Researchers at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting reported that Gay men have a tougher time dealing with the aftermath of prostatectomy than heterosexual men do.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. Gay men with prostate cancer have some additional social and sexual challenges that are rarely addressed adequately by their oncologists and social workers. For example, prostate cancer treatment can have some distinct effects on gay sexual behavior and relationships. In fact David M. Latini, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urology & Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine used a battery of studies to determine the health-related quality of life for gay men compared with a historical control group. He found that the results showed that gay men fared consistently worse than the comparison group.

Dr. Latini also noted that many gay men, had severe sexual quality-of-life disturbances because the aftermath of prostatectomy was not helped as much by phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor medication that allows men with erectile dysfunction to function sexually.

“For gay men this is a particularly difficult area,” he explained. “The phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors were created with an endpoint in the trials of vaginal penetration. We know that an erection has to be firmer to penetrate someone anally. So for sexual intercourse between two males, these medications are usually not sufficient.”

To download the study and full article as it appeared in the June 2011 Oncology times click here: PDF File Oncology Times.

For support services and more information on cancer risk and gay men please visit Malecare.org America’s largest volunteer men’s cancer support group and advocacy national nonprofit organization. Malecare, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1997. Malecare develops practical, life saving programs to address the problem of men dying sooner than women. Since 2005, they have expanded their programs to include services and research regarding the effects of cancer on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people via our new nonprofit organization, the National LGBT Cancer Project-Out With Cancer.

Below is a video on Prostate Cancer:

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Posted in Prostate Cancer, Uncategorized

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The Farber Center on Today in New York on NBC

June 17th, 2011

Darlene Rodriguez

We were honored to welcome Darlene Rodriguez into our center a few weeks ago. Darlene Rodriguez is co-anchor of Today in New York on WNBC. Rodriguez became co-anchor of the show in July 2003 after serving as a reporter for WNBC and then co-anchor of Weekend Today in New York. Here is the link to the report: www.nbcnewyork.com Enjoy and spread the word.

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Posted in Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Skin Cancer, Uncategorized

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Nat Berkus Renovates Hope Lodge NYC for Cancer Patients

June 14th, 2011

Oprah and Nate Berkus

Nate Berkus is an American interior designer. He runs the Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and has been a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as his own show, The Nate Berkus Show.

Nat offered to help renovate the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in New York City, a place where cancer patients and their caretakers can stay at no costs when they’re being treated far away from home. Currently there are 32 Hope Lodge facilities throughout the United States, and in 2010, the program helped nearly 50,000 patients save over $23 million in lodging costs. At Hope Lodge New York City, The main floor is a peaceful communal space where guests can relax, read a book, or spend time with other guests and visitors. The main floor offers many thoughtful amenities including:

Large lounge with a fireplace and piano
A family visitation room
Meditation space
Demonstration kitchen
Computer resource center (with internet access and printer)
Library
Outdoor terrace

Hope Lodge offers 60 private guest rooms in a home-like environment. Each guest floor includes a community kitchen and dining area, a quiet lounge and laundry facilities. Each guest room includes:

A private bath (with shower seat)
One king or two twin beds
Ample closet space
Individual heating and cooling units
Personal refrigerator (for medication)
Cable television
Local telephone (with multilingual voicemail and wake-up call options)
Wireless internet access
The environmentally friendly, “green” building provides a safe and welcoming atmosphere for our guests.

Below are new pictures of Hope Lodge NYC. To find out more about Hope Lodge click here: www.cancer.org. To see more pictures of the renovation click here: The Nat Berkus Show

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Posted in Uncategorized

Help Bring Lauren Home

June 10th, 2011

This is a special message from David Spierer, Lauren’s uncle. David is married to Dr. Marnee Spierer who is a part of The Farber Center Family. Our support and prayers go out to the entire Spierer family. Please donate to the Lauren Fund at www.iuhillel.org.

Here is David’s Message:

Hi all,

Hard to believe we are coming up on the end of Day 7. Here in Bloomington, we have set up a powerful command center with the sole focus of bringing Lauren home safely. We have been getting incredible cooperation from the local merchants, students and volunteers every day and we are continuing to pepper the internet through local and national media as well as social networks. We have also offered a reward for information leading to bringing Lauren home. All of this and still no major revelations in the case.

We are changing our tact with our poster campaign to include the tag lines “Anything Small Could be Big” and “Speak Up.” We feel that this may strike a chord in some of the students or younger individuals in the community who may have seen something that night. Lauren’s story will be on America’s Most Wanted this weekend. I believe it airs Saturday at 9:00pm.

Lauren’s search fund is slowly growing and the generosity of people around the country and around the world has been nothing short of incredible. Those funds will be used to assist in the search effort, including but not limited to, supplies (water, food, sunscreen, outdoor gear), alternative rescue efforts (waterways, rough terrain, mountain ranges) legal fees…etc. Also, keep in mind that the funds that are not used will be used in Lauren’s honor.

Needless to say, this has become a surreal situation, seeing a family member on TV everyday, and knowing that the resolution may be harder to fathom than anything we have experienced thus far. It is so helpful that family is here together working in this effort. We are staying positive and keeping ourselves busy with a comprehensive list of projects and issues to address.

I just want to say thank you to my family and friends for making this horrible event just a little bit easier.

David Spierer

Here is the new poster they are using:

Click here to download the poster spierer poster 6 10 11[1]

To make a donation click here: www.iuhillel.org

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Triple Negative Breast Cancer

June 3rd, 2011

As you know when I come across an amazing foundation or blog I like to spread the word. While doing some research on breast cancer I came across The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. As you may know, subtypes of breast cancer are generally diagnosed based upon the presence, or lack of, three “receptors” known to fuel most breast cancers: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). A receptor is a protein that lives inside or on the surface of a cell and binds to something in the body to cause the cell to react. But triple-negative breast cancers need different types of treatments because they are estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor- negative and HER2 negative. Medicines like tamoxifen, which targets the estrogen receptor, and trastuzumab (Herceptin), which targets HER2, are not helpful in treating triple-negative breast cancer. Instead, chemotherapy along with radiation has been shown to be the most effective treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. There are a lot of myths out there and this site does a wonderful job of educating patients and providing resources for clinical trials and support.

About TNBC Foundation

Nancy Block-Zenna


The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation was founded in 2006 in honor of Nancy Block-Zenna, a young woman who was diagnosed at age 35 with triple negative breast cancer and died 2 1/2 years later in 2007.

In response to Nancy’s diagnosis, her close friends launched the TNBC Foundation to raise awareness and support research in the area of triple negative breast cancer. It was Nancy’s hope that, as her daughter Jolie grows older, triple negative breast cancer will no longer be the threat it is today.

Their mission is to raise awareness of triple negative breast cancer and to support scientists and researchers in their effort to determine the definitive causes of triple negative breast cancer, so that effective detection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment can be pursued and achieved.

Click here to learn more or call The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation Helpline at (877) 880-TNBC (8622): TNBC Foundation

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Posted in Breast Cancer, Uncategorized

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Doctor by day, producer by night.

May 23rd, 2011

Dr. Michael Jackotwiz

To The Farber Center patients Dr. Michael Jackowtiz is the sweet internist who listens to their problems, examine’s them, and handles the first part of their consultation. What they don’t know is that at night Michael is a producer. Michael Jackowitz is Executive Producer of the new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon by award-winning composer, Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin), starring Lauren Flanigan. World Premiere, Opera Santa Barbara, Sept. 26, 2009, NYC Opera at Lincoln Center April 19, 2011 through May 1, 2011 and Opera Queensland in Australia in 2012. www.seancetheopera.com

Michael is also Executive Producer for the musical Daddy Long Legs by John Caird (Les Miserables, Nicholas Nickelby) and Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre), with set design by David Farley (Sunday in the Park with George). The recipient of three 2010 LA Ovation Awards for Best Book, Music and Lyrics and Actress in a Leading role, this rolling World Premiere started at Rubicon Theatre Company (Oct 17, 2009) and has played TheatreWorks in Palo Alto (Jan 23-Feb14, 2010), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (March 13-April 10, 2010), the BROAD Theater in Los Angeles (June 17-27, 2010), Northlight Theater in Chicago (Sept ’10), LaMirada (Nov ’10) and Laguna Playhouse (Dec ’10). Tour will continue throughout the country in 2011/12. www.daddylonglegsmusical.com

Michael’s latest broadway endeavor is as producer of the 50th Anniversary revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe, which opened this March 27, 2011. If you have not already seen it, please go, its an amazing production and Danielle Radcliff does a superb job. We would like to congratulate Dr. Jackowitz, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying has been nominated for eight Tony Awards in the following categories: www.howtosucceedbroadway.com

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL: JOHN LARROQUETTE
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL: TAMMY BLANCHARD
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL: ROB ASHFORD
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: ROB ASHFORD
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS: DOUG BESTERMAN
BEST COSTUME DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL: CATHERINE ZUBER
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL: HOWELL BINKLEY

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Dr. Farber on Good Day New York

May 11th, 2011

Greg Kelly And Rosanna Scotto

A special thank you to Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly for inviting Dr. Farber to come on Good Day New York to talk about The Farber Center for Radiation Oncology. Good Day New York is a weekday morning news and entertainment feature show which airs on WNYW, the New York City flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company. The program is the first morning show to air on a Fox owned-and-operated station, having launched on August 1, 1988.

Free Cancer Screenings: MyFoxNY.com

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Dr. Farber’s Interview with Dr. Steve Salvatore

May 9th, 2011

It is Oral head and neck Cancer week. We would like to thank Dr. Steve Salvatore of UPIX11 for having Dr. Farber on to discuss Oral, Head and Neck Cancer cancer. Oral, Head and Neck cancer affects the nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, thyroid glands, salivary glands, throat, or voice box. This devastating cancer has been in the news lately as Michael Douglas opened up to Oprah and The View recently on his experience dealing with his own throat cancer.

The Farber Center of Radiation Oncology, which is one of only two places in Manhattan offering free screenings this week. To find a location in your area go to: http://www.headandneck.org

Dr. Len Farber discusses: What to expect when you are screened- how long does it take, is it uncomfortable, etc; What are the warning signs of neck or throat cancer; How to sign up at the Farber Center for the screening. You can click on the link to watch or click play below WPIX11

 

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