Fox Chase Cancer Center News

PHILADELPHIA (November 5, 2012)—Fox Chase Cancer Center invites lung cancer patients and their caregivers to a FREE event titled “Together Facing Lung Cancer” on Monday, November 12, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m. and official program will start at 5:45 p.m.). The event, which offers support to patients and caregivers facing lung cancer, will be held in the Fox Chase Cancer Center auditorium (333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia).

PHILADELPHIA, PA (November 1, 2012)— Fox Chase Cancer Center is the first center in Pennsylvania to offer the newly U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ExAblate® MRI-guided focused ultrasound as a therapy to treat pain from bone metastases in patients who do not respond or cannot undergo radiation treatment for their pain. This is the second FDA approval for ExAblate, which has been used widely since it was approved in 2004 as a non-invasive, outpatient, therapy for uterine fibroids.  

BOSTON, MA (October 31, 2012)—A routine blood test may help predict survival in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma, according to new findings by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers. The results will be presented on Wednesday, October 31 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 54th Annual Meeting.

BOSTON, MA (October 28, 2012)—Rectal cancer is more likely to spread to the lymph nodes in younger patients, according to new findings that Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers will be presenting on October 29 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 54th Annual Meeting. The results—which are the first of their kind—suggest that doctors should search for spreading more aggressively in these patients.

BOSTON, MA (October 28, 2012)—Not all women diagnosed with operable breast cancer present with a single tumor; some have multifocal disease appear in the breast, which means multiple tumors found in the same breast quadrant, while others have multicentric disease, where multiple tumors are found in separate breast quadrants. Multifocal or multicentric disease is not a standard indication to receive radiation after mastectomy.

BOSTON, MA (October 28, 2012)—Men whose testosterone drops following radiation therapy for prostate cancer are more likely to experience a change in PSA levels that signals their cancer has returned, according to new research from Fox Chase Cancer Center. The findings will be presented on October 29 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 54th Annual Meeting.

Specifically, men whose testosterone fell following various forms of radiation therapy were more likely to experience an increase in prostate-specific antigen (PSA)—often the first indication the cancer has recurred.

PHILADELPHIA (October 9, 2012)—Come join Lindsay Fullerton, 12-year-old cancer advocate, and her dog pal Schuylkill at Fox Chase Cancer Center’s annual charity dog walk—Paws for the Cause—as they walk to raise funds to support the effort to prevail over cancer. The event takes place Sunday, October 21, at 10:30 a.m. (registration at 9:30 a.m.) on Fox Chase’s Northeast Philadelphia campus (333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia).

PHILADELPHIA (October 5, 2012)—BJ’s Wholesale Club will be hosting a FREE Pink Picnic for the community on Wednesday, October 10 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at its Conshohocken location (300 Alan Wood Road). Those attending the event will hear from Fox Chase Cancer Center medical oncologist Paula Ryan, MD, PhD, about advances in breast cancer screening, treatment and prevention. Local breast cancer survivor Sonia Smith will also share her cancer experience.