News: Director’s Letter

A cancer diagnosis is startling for anyone at any age, but it’s particularly daunting for young adults. Whether they’ve already charted a life course or are still considering various paths, a cancer diagnosis can cast them adrift and leave them spinning, not knowing which direction to turn. The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Young Adult Program helps […]

Safeguarding our cancer patients, many of whom may have compromised immune systems, has always been a priority at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The ongoing pandemic has made these safeguards more important than ever. We have implemented additional measures, including mask requirements, physical distancing and special cleaning regimens, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes […]

The team at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is working with many different health care systems to improve chances of survival for people residing in a region of the country with the highest cancer mortality. Kentucky has the highest rate of cancer deaths in the United States, followed by Mississippi, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama. […]

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is a leader in advancements and quality outcomes for stem cell transplants. Having performed more than 5,000 transplants, our team has achieved one of the best survivorship rates in the nation for our patients who receive allogeneic transplants from unrelated donors. We are also among the select cancer centers pioneering and partnering […]

While the risks for many types of cancer increase with age, cancer is not restricted to those of older age. Stephen Huff, the subject of our cover story in this issue of Momentum, was 29 years old when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He shares his shock at hearing the news, his gratitude about […]

Fortitude is threaded through the stories in this Momentum. Fortitude is what gives people battling cancer the strength to scale their obstacles. It is what cancer survivors use to lift up new patients. And it is what our researchers grip as they pursue research projects that can span years. Thomas Brewer has fortitude. Having beat […]

A Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) researcher is leading the nation’s largest-ever study of breast cancer genetics in African-American women—a $12 million initiative funded by the National Cancer Institute to determine the factors that make breast cancer deadlier for black women.  Our cover story about the Breast Cancer Genetic Study in African-Ancestry Populations, for which Dr. […]

Preventing cancer, pioneering new cancer treatments and safeguarding patients from harm are missions that require community commitment. Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) is taking actions on all those fronts, but we can’t do it alone. The articles in this issue of Momentum highlight the importance of primary care providers, philanthropic supporters, empowered patients and emergency department […]

Stories in this issue of Momentum are stitched together with a common thread—the crucial role that surgeons play in cancer treatment and recovery. It’s a role that can be overlooked. While the media spotlight focuses on emerging cancer treatments—immunotherapies that spur people’s immune systems to attack tumors, and targeted therapies that keep cancer cells from […]

A new era in cancer research and treatment is dawning. Decades of hard work, scientific investment and diligent commitment led to the development of the first targeted therapies and immunotherapies 20 years ago, but only a few of these therapies had become widely available—until recently. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved several immunotherapies in […]