Resources

Research for gastric cancer is underfunded.  Dana Farber Cancer Institute has provided the following information.  Your donations will help enable this invaluable work to continue.

With your help, our investigators can:

Continue to lead cutting-edge clinical trials of promising compounds and drug combinations.

• The Center for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer conducted an international clinical trial in nearly 30 countries that propelled the FDA to approve the first-ever targeted agent for gastric cancer in 2014. Ramucirumab—a drug that inhibits angiogenesis, the process of tumors growing and spreading through the formation of new blood vessels—can improve survival for patients with advanced gastric cancer after standard chemotherapy is no longer effective. This major advancement is impacting patients across the country and setting the stage for further esophageal and gastric cancer discovery at Dana Farber.
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Test novel immunotherapy approaches in patients with esophageal and gastric cancers

• Center investigators are developing advanced models to further examine and test different therapeutic strategies that target HER2, a gene that is commonly altered and active in many esophageal and gastric cancers. For example, we are evaluating a combination of trastuzumab, a drug that has proven to be very effective in patients with HER2-driven breast cancer, and the drug pertuzumab with standard chemotherapy. If this therapeutic combination is proven successful, it could help expand treatment options for esophageal and gastric cancer patients.
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Develop new methods to detect and diagnose these cancers at an earlier stage

• Our team pioneered the largest-ever effort to characterize the genomic and molecular features of gastric cancer as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas—a joint effort of the  National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute to accelerate understanding of the biological drivers of cancer. By collecting and sequencing nearly 300 tumor samples, we uncovered a series of altered genes and identified four distinct subtypes of gastric cancers.  Our physician-scientists are leveraging this new information to explore innovative and targeted treatments for patients

•  https://www.dana-farber.org/center-for-esophageal-and-gastric-cancer/
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 https://www.dana-farber.org/stomach-gastric-cancer/ 

The Alzheimer's Family Support Center of Cape Cod provides free personalized services to families, individuals and professionals living with Alzheimer's and other dementia-related  diseases.  Their goal is to help families navigate complexities and challenges they face across the span of these diseases, within a research-based, service - driven social model.  All of their services are free of charge to whomever needs them, regardless of ability to pay, and include support groups, care planning, counseling, education, insurance support, regular phone check-ins, family meetings, and social/cultural programming.  

If you or anyone you know is in need of services they provide, please call:  508-896-5170; info@capecodalz.org; www.alzheimerscapecod.org

"Until there is a cure, there's community"

www.alz.org for additional information about dementia