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ASCO Connection • 12th March 2024

Dr. Kamal Menghrajani on Advancing Leukemia Research and Participating in the Biden Cancer Moonshot

An endowed grant from Conquer Cancer provided Dr. Menghrajani with protected research time in the lab. It also inspired her to pursue leadership and public service opportunities in cancer care.

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ASCO Connection • 12th March 2024

Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, Provides an Endowed Future for Oncology Research and Cancer Care

By providing a ceaseless stream of funding, endowed grants ensure that oncology research and programs don’t fall victim to economic pressures and funding limitations. Here, a group of Conquer Cancer donors reflect on what drove them to endow a Young Investigator Award.

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ASCO Connection • 12th March 2024

Impact Stories: Empowering Innovation and Delivering Meaningful Results in Cancer Care

To accelerate scientific breakthroughs, enhance health equity, and improve patient outcomes for all, Conquer Cancer supports some of the most promising oncology research and programs around the world. This includes supporting efforts that advance not only research, but also continuing education for oncology providers and promotion of the highest-quality, equitable patient care.

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Your Stories Podcast • 20th February 2024

The Woman Whose Cells Lived On: Your Stories Podcast

Until just 10 years ago, few people knew of the late Henrietta Lacks, let alone the lasting impact her cells would have on medicine and healthcare, including cancer research. Before Lacks passed away from cervical cancer at age 31, her biological materials were harvested for decades of research without her knowledge or consent.

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Your Stories Podcast • 16th January 2024

"So Much to Do": Your Stories Podcast

Today, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa is a globally recognized neurosurgeon. Making that happen, however, took a lot of sacrifice and perseverance. The eldest of six children, a young Alfredo sold food at gas stations to help support his family. But he wanted to dream bigger: At 19, he left his native Mexico in hopes of a better future.

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ASCO Connection • 20th December 2023

Addressing Cancer Disparities for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Patients Through Machine Learning

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities have some of the lowest rates of inclusion in clinical trials and cancer research. The resulting lack of NHPI cancer data leads to poorer health outcomes and fewer supportive resources for patients from these populations.

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Your Stories Podcast • 19th December 2023

A Boulder Approach to Conquering Cancer: Your Stories Podcast

Favia Dubyk has many titles: athlete, professional climber, reality show participant, competitor, physician, and cancer survivor. But when she was diagnosed with cancer during medical school, Favia’s robust athletic life was put on pause. Going through surgical treatment and chemotherapy was taxing on Favia’s health, making even just daily tasks a challenge.

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Your Stories Podcast • 21st November 2023

Co-Survivors, Part 2: Your Stories Podcast

The keynote speaker and advocacy professional behind the internet moniker “Lady Glaucomflecken” – Kristin Flanary – has been more than a caregiver to Dr. Will Flanary, her spouse and partner-in-comedy “Dr. Glaucomflecken.” She is also his co-survivor. Kristin supported Will through testicular cancer twice and was his lifeline during a sudden cardiac arrest.

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ASCO Connection • 3rd November 2023

Targeting Tumor-Protective Proteins to Improve Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer

It’s infamous as a “silent disease,” with symptoms that rarely make themselves known until too late. But one Conquer Cancer-funded researcher may have found a way to improve the odds, even for patients with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer.

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Your Stories Podcast • 17th October 2023

Thinking Pink and Beyond: Your Stories Podcast

Today, the conversation around breast cancer has reached a level of nearly unrivaled ubiquity, thanks in large part to a huge collective of philanthropists, advocates, physicians, scientists and patients around the world who, more than 30 years ago, decided it was time—perhaps even long past time—for a change.

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ASCO Daily News • 11th October 2023

Trial Data Sharing Promotes Research Transparency and Fulfills a Promise to Patients

Patient participation in clinical trials is vital to advancing cancer research, yet few adult patients enroll in these studies. Those who do enroll give substantial time to clinical trials and take experimental drugs that may come with serious side effects, knowing their research involvement could help improve care for future patients.

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ASCO Daily News • 6th September 2023

Accelerating Local Solutions for Patients With HIV and Breast Cancer

In Tanzania, where HIV infection and breast cancer are major concerns, it’s becoming increasingly critical to research the intersection of these two diseases. This is precisely the research focus of Sarah Nyagabona, MD, MMed. She works to better understand how HIV infection affects the health-seeking behaviors of patients with breast cancer.

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ASCO Connection • 29th August 2023

From the U.S. to Brazil: Enhancing Immunotherapy for Advanced Prostate Cancers

Prostate cancer is the fourth most diagnosed cancer worldwide. While the standard treatment—androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)—targets prostate cancer even in its advanced stages, most patients rapidly develop resistance to ADT and often experience side effects like fatigue, anemia, bone loss, and erectile dysfunction.

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ASCO Daily News • 24th August 2023

Leveraging Surgery to Mitigate Lymphedema and Improve Pain Management for Patients

For patients with breast cancer, the effects of lymphedema can have a profound impact on quality of life. While sufficient research exists on the localized inflammation caused by lymphedema, few studies have explored how this condition affects the body as a whole. Even fewer—if any—have looked at how lymphedema-correcting surgeries could help. It’s a problem that Dionisia Quiroga, DO, PhD, hopes to solve.

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Your Stories Podcast • 15th August 2023

The More You Know: Your Stories Podcast

Unless you're a trained scientist, most cancer jargon might not make much sense. Enter Cancer.Net, the patient information website of ASCO and Conquer Cancer, with its commitment to helping patients and families access the knowledge and resources they need as they navigate their cancer journey. Host and cancer survivor Brenda Brody is joined by Dr. Jyoti Patel, a clinical oncologist and the editor-in-chief of Cancer.Net, discuss why providing lay cancer information is critical to raising awareness and support for research.

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ASCO Connection • 20th July 2023

Personalizing Treatments for Patients With Metastatic Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

Accounting for less than 1% of cancer diagnoses each year and between 10% to 20% of sarcomas overall, leiomyosarcomas are both aggressive and highly recurrent—with patients facing a 50% rate of recurrence and, for metastatic disease, an average survival of just 12 to 18 months. While this aggressive tumor can occur in anyone, it’s most likely to affect the uterus, making it most common among women and people with female reproductive organs.

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Your Stories Podcast • 18th July 2023

From Dentistry to Oncology: Your Stories Podcast

For patients with oral cancers, treatment is often just the beginning of their journey. Even after they emerge cancer-free, many still face a long journey to recovery and restored quality of life. As a maxillofacial surgeon and oncologist, Dr. Chi Viet concentrates heavily on helping her patients to not only conquer this rare cancer, but to more easily and effectively manage their pain along their road to recovery.

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Conquer Cancer • 21st June 2023

Improving Radiation Treatment and Sexual Health Outcomes in Gender-Diverse Patients

Of the many challenges attached to pelvic cancer, sexual health outcomes often prove especially difficult following radiation treatment. While numerous studies explain the impacts of post-radiation on male sexual function, similar research is scarce for female and gender-diverse patients. It’s a gap that Dr. Marshall hopes to bridge.

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Your Stories Podcast • 20th June 2023

Spreading the News About Colorectal Cancer Research: Your Stories Podcast

NBC journalist Craig Melvin’s 43-year-old brother, Lawrence Meadows, passed away from colorectal cancer in 2020. Since then, Craig has made it his mission to increase public awareness and raise support for colorectal cancer research. Along with two-time Conquer Cancer grant recipient and colorectal oncologist Dr. Kimmie Ng, Craig joins this episode of Your Stories to emphasize the critical role donors play in advancing colorectal cancer research.

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ASCO Connection • 18th May 2023

Dr. Chrisann Kyi Pursues Early-Phase Development of Targeted Immunotherapies for Patients With Gynecologic Cancers

A mother with cervical cancer has tried every standard treatment available to her, but her cancer continues to recur. She wants to live long enough to see her daughter graduate from high school. Despite having an immune system exhausted from standard chemotherapy, she takes a leap of faith...

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Your Stories Podcast • 16th May 2023

Building a Bridge to Hope: Your Stories Podcast

Support communities for people conquering cancer form a critical bridge between the worlds of social work and oncology and offer immense benefits for people transitioning from patient to survivor. Stephanie Stern, a licensed professional counselor and program director at a nonprofit community organization, helps people to more effectively manage the mixed emotions that come with conquering cancer.

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ASCO Daily News • 10th May 2023

Dr. Matthew Painschab Works to Mitigate Treatment-Related Infections for Patients in Malawi

For patients undergoing chemotherapy for blood cancers, the risk of developing fever and infections is not only heightened but even more lethal. In places like Malawi, where many people live more than four hours from the nearest oncology clinic, that risk can be particularly virulent.

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Your Stories Podcast • 21st April 2023

From Disappointment to Discovery: Your Stories Podcast

Anya Magnuson was a 19-year-old photojournalism student — maintaining a 4.0 GPA and covering healthcare for the homeless in downtown Phoenix — when she was diagnosed with Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD), an extremely rare and incurable type of blood cancer. After three years of unsuccessful treatments, Anya was quickly running out of options. But that changed in 2019.

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Conquer Cancer • 18th April 2023

Rare Blood Cancers: Advancing Treatment Approaches for Patients

One of the most challenging parts of Dr. Jithma Abeykoon's job is the moment when he realizes that, despite all his best efforts, he's run out of treatment options for his patients. He thought he'd reached such a point when treating Anya Magnuson, a young woman and aspiring photographer diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Erdheim-Chester disease.