San Francisco-based Heather Millar is a breast cancer survivor. A journalist for more than 25 years, she has covered health care and science for many national magazines and websites.
Tired of the Cancer Conversation
I haven’t written about cancer for about three months. That’s a long time for me.
Power in the Words: Discussing Palliative Cancer Care
The approach used in discussing palliative care can play a role in whether a patient seeks help.
Turning the Tide in Glioblastoma
Innovations in drug development, surgery, radiation and clinical trials have investigators hard at work in glioblastoma.
Get Moving: The Benefits of Exercising for Cancer Survivors
While there has been no hard evidence that exercise can improve survival in patients with cancer, it can boost patients' mood and how they feel.
A Time for Action
Researchers are considering whether some smoldering myelomas warrant treatment and which regimens are best.
Closer to a Cure for Myeloma
In pretreated multiple myeloma, experimental CAR-T cell immunotherapy offers the potential for long-term — and possibly even permanent — remission.
What if Your Doctor Makes a Mistake?
What happens if your doctor makes a medical mistake, and when is it appropriate to sue?
How Are Your Emotions Today? Honoring a Pioneer in Cancer Care
If an oncologist, infusion center nurse or any member of your medical team has asked you a question like that recently, you can thank Dr. Jimmie Holland, a pioneering psychiatrist who died Dec. 24 at the age of 89.
Mt. Everest in the Day to Day
We want to accomplish something. We want to love and be loved. We want to explore, achieve, stand out. Yet we will all die someday.
Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind
If following a particular diet makes sense to you, and you can tolerate it, then by all means do so. But I beg you to remember that even unhealthy things won't kill you in moderation.
Building an Army to Fight Blood Cancer
Newly approved CAR-T cell treatments inspire hope in patients with blood cancer.
Liquid Biopsies: A Lung Cancer Game-Changer?
Newer, less invasive tests are helping scientists isolate genomic alterations.
A Personalized Era in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treatment
Researchers are identifying targets to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Patients With Cancer Find Purpose in Radical Feats
For some diagnosed with cancer, doing something radical can instill meaning and a sense of purpose.
The Nose Knows: Can Dogs Be Trained to Sniff Out Cancer?
Scientists are working to harness dogs’ ability to sniff out cancer.
Zeroing In on CAR T-Cell Therapy
CAR T-cell therapy is drastically changing the landscape of cancer treatment.
Have a Cocktail: Using Multiple Drugs to Treat Myeloma
Cocktails of three, four or even five drugs of various classes are turning myeloma into a chronic condition.
Braking Bad: Using Immunotherapy to Fight Hodgkin Lymphoma
By taking the brakes off immune response, immunotherapy empowers the body to fight resistant or recurrent classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
Connecting the Dots: Vitiligo Can Predict Immunotherapy Response in Melanoma
Why is the development of vitiligo a predictor of good response in patients taking immunotherapy for melanoma, and what can scientists learn from this?
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Already Proving to Be Treatable With Targeted Therapies
Identified only a decade-and-a-half ago, GIST is already treatable with several targeted therapies, and scientists are researching more.
Some Pediatric Regimens Can Be Successful in Adults With ALL
A study of acute lymphoblastic leukemia across the age spectrum is showing that some pediatric regimens can be successful in adults.
Wrestling Match: Dealing With Treatment Decisions for Stage 3 Lung Cancer
The characteristics of stage 3 lung cancer can vary widely, leaving patients and their doctors to wrestle with questions about how best to treat the disease.
A Different World: Metastatic Breast Cancer
In terms of both treatment and the emotional perspective of patients, metastatic breast cancer is different from other stages of the disease.
Inching Toward a Cure for Multiple Myeloma
With new treatments transforming multiple myeloma into a chronic condition and additional therapies on the horizon, some experts believe a cure is within view.