Masonic Cancer Center News

Switching gears

Longtime HIV researcher makes a breakthrough cancer discovery

“Mutant variants of human cells”: the phrase conjures up images of a bad sci-fi movie. But Reuben Harris, Ph.D., has been studying cell mutations for more than 20 years, and his recent finding is more akin to an Oscar-winning blockbuster.

So remarkable is his work that the prestigious journal Nature in February published his discovery that a protein that occurs naturally in the body appears to be a driver for more than half of breast cancers he studied. This breakthrough could lead to new diagnostic tools and, potentially, new treatments for breast cancer.

Study examines meditation’s potential to improve recovery after cancer treatment

Pat Rudolph had never pegged herself as the meditation type. Yet here she was in a weekly, two-hour mindfulness meditation course with a dozen strangers.

Far-reaching impact

Across the street, across the state, across the country, and across the world, members of the Masonic Cancer Center are helping people live healthier lives. Not only does the impact of our research stretch across borders and oceans, but some of our leaders are working directly with leaders in other countries to accomplish a myriad of goals — to share knowledge, to exchange ideas, and even to help meet basic needs.

Remembering a leader

The Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota lost one of its most prominent and influential physician-scientists March 10 with the sudden death of John Kersey, M.D. He was 74 years old.

With philanthropy, research team targets a biological drug for treating leukemia

Michael Verneris, M.D., senses an urgent need every time he looks into the faces of his young patients who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the Journey Clinic at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. “The need to develop new treatments, less toxic and more effective than chemotherapy, is huge,” he says, “and I feel that sense of urgency every week when I sit next to a patient and have to explain that the options are slim.”

Masonic Cancer Center mourns loss of pioneering scientist

Groundbreaking cancer researcher John Ohlfest, Ph.D., died on January 21 of malignant melanoma. He was 35 years old.

University team and leading-edge technologies help Minnetrista woman beat cancer—twice

When a new scanning technology revealed a second tiny new breast cancer—so small it could not be detected by a mammogram—Kathy Heins, a mother of two young children, felt an even stronger resolve to overcome breast cancer. Again.

IRA charitable giving opportunity extended for 2013

Thanks to recent legislation, you can again benefit from a popular tax-advantaged giving option.