Music has always filled Andrew Leahey’s mind and his heart. With a mom who taught music classes, Leahey spent his early years in Richmond, Virginia, plinking on the keys of the family piano, listening to melodies and singing along. “I thought it was just normal, that everybody walked around the house singing all the time. […]
Since the Pap smear debuted in the 1950s to detect pre-cancerous changes in a woman’s cervix, mortality rates for cervical cancer have dropped by 70 percent, according to the American Cancer Society, making the simple collection of cells from the opening of the cervix perhaps the biggest success story in the history of cancer screening. […]
From a young age, Scott Sobecki had two loves: medicine and computers. His career path began with the former and gravitated to the latter. Vanderbilt brought them together in one job. Sobecki is the director of the Research Informatics Core at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, leading a 25-person team that develops software to aid researchers in […]
Ten-to-one. Cell for cell, they’ve got us outnumbered. And as a group, they have 100 times more genes than we do. Fortunately, these microbes that share our corporeal space are usually on our side. Known collectively as the microbiome, the microbial species that flourish along our mucosal surfaces—the linings of our intestines, mouth and nose, […]
It has been 50 years since Luther Terry, M.D., the ninth Surgeon General, released the landmark report detailing health risks of smoking. Despite smoking being the single greatest preventable cause of illnesses, disability and death in the United States, it is not considered a chronic health condition. Hilary Tindle, M.D., MPH, aims to change that […]
Myth: Ovarian cancer does not have symptoms. Fact: It does. Cheri Barrow knows this all too well. In 2007, after months of struggling with severe bloating, reduced appetite, lower pelvic pain and hot flashes, the Elkton, Ky., school teacher went to the doctor and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is currently on her fifth […]
We know that half of all cancer cases are preventable or detectable early, and imaging plays a big role in early detection of tumors. For example, our new lung cancer screening program, just launched in January, provides low-dose CT scans for patients at high risk for lung cancer, one of the deadliest cancers. Ninety percent […]
When the NCAA Women’s Final Four came to Nashville in April, it brought great basketball action, plus extra support for ovarian cancer. Annually, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund supports a cancer research grant to an institution based in the host city of the NCAA Women’s Final Four. This year’s $100,000 grant was awarded to Vanderbilt-Ingram […]
There are two computer screens on the desk of Christine Micheel, Ph.D., one constantly monitoring the Web traffic on MyCancerGenome.org. “I can see how many people are on the website right now and where they are in the world. We get about 1,000 visits every day, and less than half are from the U.S. International […]
Finding cancer early may make it easier to treat—and possibly cure. Imaging plays a role in screening to detect breast cancer (mammography) and lung cancer (CT). Vanderbilt has made recent advances in both areas, with the implementation of powerful new breast imaging technology and the launch of a lung cancer screening program. The Vanderbilt Breast […]
