TheoryLab

Finding out that a loved one has cancer can bring many changes. Doctors and nurses receive years of training in patient care, but family caregivers are often thrust into this role overnight with no training on the critical processes that their loved ones depend on them to do properly every day.

Rachel Cannady—as Strategic Director of Cancer Caregiver Support at the American Cancer Society—creates resources that empower caregivers with the resources and information they need.

Visit https://cancer.org/caregivers to learn more about what to expect if you become a caregiver for a person with cancer, and get tips for making sure that you take care of yourself as well.

Among the resources there are the Interactive Caregiver Resource Guide and the Caregiver Support Video Series.

The Interactive Caregiver Resource Guide is a comprehensive tool to help you learn how to care for yourself as a caregiver, better understand what your loved one is going through, and develop skills for coping and caring. It can be accessed or downloaded here: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/cancer-control/en/booklets-flyers/american-cancer-society-caregiver-resource-guide.pdf

The Caregiver Support Video Series provides educational support to caregivers as they assist with the everyday needs of cancer patients and provide self-care techniques to improve their quality of life. Short videos provide guidance related to, for example, drain care, managing side effects, and managing medication. It’s available at https://www.cancer.org/treatment/caregivers/caregiver-support-videos.html.

2:20 – Creating evidence-informed resources for cancer caregivers

4:12 – On the village of cancer care in the United States

6:27 – “The bigger the village, the better the help” Some of the many responsibilities of cancer caregivers—information seeking, emotional support, decision making, navigating financial concerns, etc.

9:53 – On findings from the National Quality of Life Survey for Caregivers, a study that followed a group of caregivers over eight years

16:01 – “Nearly 50% of the caregivers at post-diagnosis said that they need help helping their loved one deal with the emotional stress of cancer.”

17:30 – There’s also a positive benefit from providing care – caregiving can create meaning in people’s lives

20:33 – The Caregiver Resource Guide, the Caregiver Support Video Series, and other resources developed through the American Cancer Society’s Caregiver Support Program

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/caregivers.html

29:16 – How these resources can empower caregivers and help them feel more confident, prepared, and at ease

31:20 – On the impact of COVID-19 on cancer caregiving

Elyse Park, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Health Promotion and Resiliency Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Associate Director of Survivorship Research, and Psychosocial Services for the MGH Cancer Center Survivorship Program. Her most recent American Cancer Society grant focuses on developing a health insurance navigation program for childhood survivors.

Travis Baggett, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of research at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, and an MGH research scholar. His ACS grant supports research into lung cancer screening navigation for homeless people.

Sanja Percac-Lima, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a primary care physician at the MGH Chelsea Community Health Care Center, and physician leader for cancer outreach at MGH Cancer Center. A former ACS grantee, her research focuses on cancer prevention in ethnic and racial minorities.

5:42 – Dr. Park on her research into lung cancer screening, helping smokers quit, and helping survivors cope with stress and enhance their resiliency

8:46 – Dr. Percac-Lima on her research into alleviating disparities in cancer care and screening in vulnerable populations

11:39 – Dr. Baggett on a patient navigation program to help current and former homeless individuals to quit smoking and get lung cancer screening

14:32 –Taking behavioral interventions to the next level

17:14 –Reducing colorectal cancer screening disparities through patient navigation

22:09 –The encouraging progress there has been in the recognition of health equity issues

29:05 – Dr. Park on helping cancer survivors to improve their access and use of health insurance

33:38 – On the benefits of patient navigation during the COVID-19 pandemic

38:09 – On social justice and the work of the homelessness housing and health lab

41:41 – Why Massachusetts General Hospital is such a wonderful research environment

48:32 – The impact of ACS funding on their research

53:05 – A message for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

Elyse Park, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Health Promotion and Resiliency Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Associate Director of Survivorship Research, and Psychosocial Services for the MGH Cancer Center Survivorship Program. Her most recent American Cancer Society grant focuses on developing a health insurance navigation program for childhood survivors.

Travis Baggett, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of research at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, and an MGH research scholar. His ACS grant supports research into lung cancer screening navigation for homeless people.

Sanja Percac-Lima, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a primary care physician at the MGH Chelsea Community Health Care Center, and physician leader for cancer outreach at MGH Cancer Center. A former ACS grantee, her research focuses on cancer prevention in ethnic and racial minorities.

5:42 – Dr. Park on her research into lung cancer screening, helping smokers quit, and helping survivors cope with stress and enhance their resiliency

8:46 – Dr. Percac-Lima on her research into alleviating disparities in cancer care and screening in vulnerable populations

11:39 – Dr. Baggett on a patient navigation program to help current and former homeless individuals to quit smoking and get lung cancer screening

14:32 –Taking behavioral interventions to the next level

17:14 –Reducing colorectal cancer screening disparities through patient navigation

22:09 –The encouraging progress there has been in the recognition of health equity issues

29:05 – Dr. Park on helping cancer survivors to improve their access and use of health insurance

33:38 – On the benefits of patient navigation during the COVID-19 pandemic

38:09 – On social justice and the work of the homelessness housing and health lab

41:41 – Why Massachusetts General Hospital is such a wonderful research environment

48:32 – The impact of ACS funding on their research

53:05 – A message for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

In this episode—which is for a scientific audience until the 27-minute mark—a current American Cancer Society grantee and a former grantee spoke with each other about their recently published new findings in cancer research.

Alessandro Gardini, PhD, an Assistant Professor at The Wistar Institute, studies the epigenetic control of transcription during cell differentiation and oncogenesis. He recently published work in Cell titled “The PP2A-Integrator-CDK9 axis fine-tunes transcription and can be targeted therapeutically in cancer:” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34004147/.

Yuan He, PhD, is Assistant Professor (but just received word that he’s being promoted to Associate Professor!!) at Northwestern University. The He lab The He lab uses cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and other biophysical and biochemical approaches to understand “the molecular mechanisms by which large, multi-subunit complexes engage in DNA-centric processes.” Dr. He recently published findings in Science on, “Structure of the human Mediator-bound transcription preinitiation complex:” https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6537/52.

4:12 – Dr. Gardini describes his new paper: “what we found is that when you combine CDK9 inhibition with activation by small molecules of the PP2A phosphatase…we get a much better block on transcription in these tumors…”

9:10 – Interesting question from Dr. He on the mysterious integrator complex

11:11 – “What do you think about this tug of war of the phosphatase competing with CDKs…?”

14:19 – Dr. He shared takeaways from his new paper: “And this eventually allowed us to build a model of how this gigantic 57-sub-unit machinery recognized CTD from the polymerase…”

19:11 – Dr. Gardini professes his love for CTD

20:39 – “What do you think is the threshold of phosphorylation in order for the mediator to start losing affinity…?”

25:36 – “Could we possibly think that both mediator and integrator are actually bound to non-phosphorylated CTD at the same time or could there actually be competition…?”

27:46 – Why is this work important? Why should a cancer patient, survivor, or caregiver be excited about these publications?

In this episode—which is for a scientific audience until the 27-minute mark—a current American Cancer Society grantee and a former grantee spoke with each other about their recently published new findings in cancer research.

Alessandro Gardini, PhD, an Assistant Professor at The Wistar Institute, studies the epigenetic control of transcription during cell differentiation and oncogenesis. He recently published work in Cell titled “The PP2A-Integrator-CDK9 axis fine-tunes transcription and can be targeted therapeutically in cancer:” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34004147/.

Yuan He, PhD, is Assistant Professor (but just received word that he’s being promoted to Associate Professor!!) at Northwestern University. The He lab The He lab uses cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and other biophysical and biochemical approaches to understand “the molecular mechanisms by which large, multi-subunit complexes engage in DNA-centric processes.” Dr. He recently published findings in Science on, “Structure of the human Mediator-bound transcription preinitiation complex:” https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6537/52.

4:12 – Dr. Gardini describes his new paper: “what we found is that when you combine CDK9 inhibition with activation by small molecules of the PP2A phosphatase…we get a much better block on transcription in these tumors…”

9:10 – Interesting question from Dr. He on the mysterious integrator complex

11:11 – “What do you think about this tug of war of the phosphatase competing with CDKs…?”

14:19 – Dr. He shared takeaways from his new paper: “And this eventually allowed us to build a model of how this gigantic 57-sub-unit machinery recognized CTD from the polymerase…”

19:11 – Dr. Gardini professes his love for CTD

20:39 – “What do you think is the threshold of phosphorylation in order for the mediator to start losing affinity…?”

25:36 – “Could we possibly think that both mediator and integrator are actually bound to non-phosphorylated CTD at the same time or could there actually be competition…?”

27:46 – Why is this work important? Why should a cancer patient, survivor, or caregiver be excited about these publications?

Lisa McKenzie, PhD, has a new American Cancer Society research grant to explore the relationships between oil and gas environmental exposures and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The award builds upon her preliminary studies, which suggested that children living near oil and gas wells “may be economically disadvantaged and at greater risk for childhood leukemia.”

According to Dr. McKenzie—who is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health—approximately 3 million children in the United States live within one mile of an oil and gas well.

In this episode, Dr. McKenzie explains how she plans to evaluate the association between exposures from oil and gas development and childhood leukemia risk and why this work is critically needed to support state and federal policy.

4:51 – Lisa McKenzie, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health

6:11 – On fracking and how oil and gas are removed from the ground

8:38 – How tapping into unconventional resources such as shale has brought the oil and gas industry into more communities

11:12 – On concerns that communities have raised about oil and gas environmental exposures

13:49 – What we know about carcinogens associated with the oil and gas industry

15:57 – On childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

18:19 – Why it’s particularly concerning for children to be exposed to carcinogens

23:38 – Has proximity to oil and gas activity been associated with childhood ALL?

25:10 – How many children in the United States live near such activity?

26:07 – How she plans to build on her preliminary data using American Cancer Society funding

28:35 – Why she hopes her research could make a difference for parents and children

32:13 – On the state, national, and global policies for oil and gas environmental practices

34:07 – How ACS funding will allow her to continue her research

35:46 – A message she’d like to share with cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

Lisa McKenzie, PhD, has a new American Cancer Society research grant to explore the relationships between oil and gas environmental exposures and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The award builds upon her preliminary studies, which suggested that children living near oil and gas wells “may be economically disadvantaged and at greater risk for childhood leukemia.”

According to Dr. McKenzie—who is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health—approximately 3 million children in the United States live within one mile of an oil and gas well.

In this episode, Dr. McKenzie explains how she plans to evaluate the association between exposures from oil and gas development and childhood leukemia risk and why this work is critically needed to support state and federal policy.

4:51 – Lisa McKenzie, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health

6:11 – On fracking and how oil and gas are removed from the ground

8:38 – How tapping into unconventional resources such as shale has brought the oil and gas industry into more communities

11:12 – On concerns that communities have raised about oil and gas environmental exposures

13:49 – What we know about carcinogens associated with the oil and gas industry

15:57 – On childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

18:19 – Why it’s particularly concerning for children to be exposed to carcinogens

23:38 – Has proximity to oil and gas activity been associated with childhood ALL?

25:10 – How many children in the United States live near such activity?

26:07 – How she plans to build on her preliminary data using American Cancer Society funding

28:35 – Why she hopes her research could make a difference for parents and children

32:13 – On the state, national, and global policies for oil and gas environmental practices

34:07 – How ACS funding will allow her to continue her research

35:46 – A message she’d like to share with cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

In this episode—which skews more toward a scientific audience until the last five minutes—two American Cancer Society grantees spoke with each other about their recently published new findings in breast cancer research.

Sonia de Assis, PhD, is interested in epigenetic inheritance: “In addition to genetic material or DNA, our parents also pass to us molecular memory of their environmental exposures, and that can affect our risk or predisposition to disease including cancer.”

Matthew Sikora, PhD, focuses on invasive lobular carcinoma, a type of invasive breast cancer. He feels that “advances in treatment are hindered by our poor understanding of the distinct biology of invasive lobular carcinoma,” and his lab has identified a potential therapeutic target.

Sonia de Assis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University. She recently published findings showing that, “systemic alterations play a dominant role in epigenetic predisposition to breast cancer in offspring of obese fathers and is transmitted to a second generation:” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-86548-w.

Matthew Sikora, PhD, of the Univ. of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus and DC, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology. His latest work is titled, “Mediator of DNA damage checkpoint 1 (MDC1) is a novel estrogen receptor co-regulator in invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast:” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947745/.

1:49 – Dr. de Assis on epigenetic inheritance and her recently published findings

5:30 – Reactions from Dr. Sikora and what stood out to him about Dr. de Assis’s findings: “Figure 2A really smacked me in the face and just got me going…”

9:23 – “Do you think it’s actually the tRNA levels that are different that are causing the phenotype, or are those indicative of a different epigenetic context in the sperm?”

11:31 – “One thing I want to make clear is that we think the non-coding RNAs act with a hit-and-run effect…”

12:35 – Dr. Sikora on invasive lobular carcinoma and his new publication

16:08 – Invasive lobular carcinoma versus invasive ductal carcinoma

19:12 – “That’s a fabulous question, and my R01 reviewers had the exact same question a few cycles ago…”

22:27 – “How do you see using MDC1 as a therapeutic target because of this dichotomy that’s a tumor suppressor but also an oncogene?”

24:30 – They note some interesting connections between their work

27:13 – Dr. de Assis explains why it’s important to understand epigenetic memory

28:50 – Dr. Sikora describes why he became interested in invasive lobular carcinoma

In this episode—which skews more toward a scientific audience until the last five minutes—two American Cancer Society grantees spoke with each other about their recently published new findings in breast cancer research.

Sonia de Assis, PhD, is interested in epigenetic inheritance: “In addition to genetic material or DNA, our parents also pass to us molecular memory of their environmental exposures, and that can affect our risk or predisposition to disease including cancer.”

Matthew Sikora, PhD, focuses on invasive lobular carcinoma, a type of invasive breast cancer. He feels that “advances in treatment are hindered by our poor understanding of the distinct biology of invasive lobular carcinoma,” and his lab has identified a potential therapeutic target.

Sonia de Assis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University. She recently published findings showing that, “systemic alterations play a dominant role in epigenetic predisposition to breast cancer in offspring of obese fathers and is transmitted to a second generation:” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-86548-w.

Matthew Sikora, PhD, of the Univ. of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus and DC, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology. His latest work is titled, “Mediator of DNA damage checkpoint 1 (MDC1) is a novel estrogen receptor co-regulator in invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast:” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947745/.

1:49 – Dr. de Assis on epigenetic inheritance and her recently published findings

5:30 – Reactions from Dr. Sikora and what stood out to him about Dr. de Assis’s findings: “Figure 2A really smacked me in the face and just got me going…”

9:23 – “Do you think it’s actually the tRNA levels that are different that are causing the phenotype, or are those indicative of a different epigenetic context in the sperm?”

11:31 – “One thing I want to make clear is that we think the non-coding RNAs act with a hit-and-run effect…”

12:35 – Dr. Sikora on invasive lobular carcinoma and his new publication

16:08 – Invasive lobular carcinoma versus invasive ductal carcinoma

19:12 – “That’s a fabulous question, and my R01 reviewers had the exact same question a few cycles ago…”

22:27 – “How do you see using MDC1 as a therapeutic target because of this dichotomy that’s a tumor suppressor but also an oncogene?”

24:30 – They note some interesting connections between their work

27:13 – Dr. de Assis explains why it’s important to understand epigenetic memory

28:50 – Dr. Sikora describes why he became interested in invasive lobular carcinoma

In this episode, three researchers from Dartmouth who are investigating very different aspects of cancer joined the podcast to share their work. One of the guests, James Moseley, PhD, summed up why a diversity of scientific approaches and collaboration among researchers is so important:

“We’re all in this together. There are so many different angles to fighting cancer, whether it be here at Dartmouth—where we’ve got folks working on the level of cells and proteins all the way up through patient care and beyond—or through the ACS. This is really a team effort, and we’re all kind of working on our individual parts, but (this is) a reminder that we’re all working together to tackle all these different aspects of cancer with the ultimate goal of helping patients and survivors.”

Amber Barnato, MD, MPH, MS, is the Susan J. and Richard M. Levy 1960 Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery. Her research focuses on variation in end-of-life intensive care unit and life-sustaining treatment use.

Kathleen Lyons, ScD, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry. Here research focuses on cancer rehabilitation and palliative and supportive care.

James Moseley, PhD, is Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. His lab studies how cells coordinate cell growth and division.

5:10 – Dr. Barnato on making sure that end-of-life care aligns with personal goals, helps manage symptoms and emotional distress, and supports families

7:08 – Dr. Lyons on how rehabilitation science helps with symptom management and side effects from cancer treatment

9:24 – Dr. Moseley on a different kind of decision making – how a cell decides that it’s going to divide

13:02 – How early engagement of palliative care in cancer care improves quality of life and symptom management and can help extend life

16:02 – On the growing understanding of why “prehabilitation” before treatment is so important

20:24 – What we’ve learned from technological breakthroughs that have allowed researchers to watch individual proteins in cells

27:20 – Dr. Barnato’s focus on medical decision making and patient-provider relationships

29:42 – How Dr. Lyons is focused on accelerating recovery from treatment and helping patients get back to doing the activities they want to do

35:30 – Dr. Moseley poses an interesting question: How does a cell know what size it is?

39:10 – On the collaborative, supportive environment at Dartmouth

40:49 – The impact of ACS funding on their research

49:55 – A message they’d like to share with cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors