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Coming up May 19

Sharon Brangman, MD: Does your loved one need a feeding tube?

Frederick Sengstacke, MD: Does losing weight help overweight women conceive?

Dr. Richard O’Neill’s Check-Up From The Neck-Up: Finding work/life balance for runners’ burnout

Coming up May 26

Patrick Basile, MD: Upstate medical graduate performs high profile double arm transplant

Dr. Richard O’Neill’s Check-Up From The Neck-Up: Who, What, Where, When, How, or… what I learned on my vacation to China

Richard Cantor, MD: PEDS to Parents – How to keep kids safe in summer

Harold Smulyan, MD: What killed Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum?

Deirdre Neilen, PhD: The Healing Muse – ‘Snow’ and ‘Things My Daughter Lost in Hospitals’

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Archive Posts

Archive for the ‘ cancer’ Category

Challenges in Cancer Research in Africa

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

Rosemary RochfordRosemary Rochford PhD is widely known for her research on Burkitt’s Lymphoma, the most common childhood cancer in sub-Saharan Africa.  She will talk about the cancer challenges in developing countries, how the cancer registry programs work, the main types of cancers that exist in Africa and how they differ from those in the United States.  Rochford is professor & chair of Microbiology & Immunology and recently appointed vice president for research at Upstate.   


What is ‘personalized cancer care’?

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

Ajeet Gajra, MDUpstate hematologist/oncologist Ajeet Gajra will talk about the theory behind ‘personalized cancer care’ – how it differs from ‘targeted therapy’, and how the Upstate Cancer Center provides this type of care.  Upstate is involved in a variety of active trials seeking participants.  

Read more about the new Upstate Cancer Center, opening Spring 2014.


New kidney cancer vaccine trial

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Gennady Bratslavsky MDDr. Gennady Bratslavsky, director of Upstate’s Prostate Cancer Program, reveals a new kidney cancer vaccine trial as a possible treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma.  The study hopes to train the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer by making a vaccine from their own cancer cells. The study is open to patients with advanced kidney cancer.  For more information, call 315-464-1500.

Read the study, from ClinicalTrials.gov

ADAPT Kidney Cancer Study


Upstate receives St. Baldrick’s grant to benefit kids with cancer

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Karol Kerr MDDr. Karol Kerr, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at the Dr. William J. Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Upstate Cancer Center, is receiving a grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for the second year in a row.  Dr. Kerr talks about the types of patients she sees, and how this grant money will be used to support the multidisciplinary center’s services.  The St Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven and donor-centered charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research. 

For more information, or to donate: St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Syracuse


Research study begins to determine if biomarkers could predict or detect colon cancer

Friday, February 8th, 2013

David R Halleran, MDJiri Bem, MDLinda VeitUpstate surgeons David Halleran and Jiri Bem are joined by Linda Veit, special projects manager at the Upstate Cancer Center, to talk about colorectal cancer and the importance of the colonoscopy as a screening tool. The also discuss a study they are involved in to determine what biomarkers might be used to predict/detect colon cancer — perhaps in lieu of a colonoscopy in the future.  For more information, or to participate in the study, call 315-464-1852.

Onondaga County Cancer Services Program on Facebook

Read the study: Study of Biomarkers for Early Detection of Colorectal Adenocarcinoma in Adults Undergoing Colonoscopy


Free cancer screenings available through Upstate and Onondaga County partnership

Friday, February 8th, 2013

David R Halleran, MDJiri Bem, MDJenny DickinsonAmong cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Upstate surgeons David Halleran and Jiri Bem, are joined by Jenny Dickinson from the Onondaga County Health Department, to discuss the Onondaga County Cancer Services Program partnership, which provides free cancer screenings to the uninsured and underinsured.  For more information, call 435-3653.

Onondaga County Cancer Services Program on Facebook

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month


Upstate’s Lung Cancer Screening Program embraces new ACS lung cancer screening recommendations

Sunday, January 27th, 2013

Leslie J Kohman, MD, FACSErnest M Scalzetti, MD Linda VeitDr. Leslie Kohman is joined by Dr. Ernest Scalzetti and Linda Veit to discuss Upstate’s Lung Cancer Screening Program, which has been designated as an ‘Experienced Screening Center of Excellence’ by the Lung Cancer Alliance.  They will address new guidelines from the American Cancer Society recommending that those who are high risk for lung cancer (people ages 55 to 74 who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years or the equivalent, such as two packs a day for 15 years) get an annual low dose chest CT to screen for lung cancer.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call Upstate Connect at 315-464-8668, or toll-free at 800-464-8668.

The rising incidence of pancreatic cancer

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Dilip S Kittur, MDDr. Dilip Kittur, chief of hepatobiliary & pancreatic surgery at Upstate, talks about the rising incidence of pancreatic cancer.

More information:
Smoking, drinking tied to earlier pancreatic cancer: study
Bacteria may signal pancreatic cancer risk


New Ronald McDonald house in Syracuse

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Leola RogersBeth TrunfioBeth Trunfio, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Central New York (RMC) and Leola Rodgers, associate administrator for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and RMC board member, share their excitement as the November opening of the new Ronald McDonald house in Syracuse nears.


Upstate’s fatigue management program for cancer patients

Friday, October 12th, 2012

Cassi TerpeningCassi Terpening, doctor of physical therapy and certified strength and conditioning specialist, talks about Upstate’s fatigue management program, and how it is used in cancer rehabilitation.

The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation – To schedule an appointment, call 464-6543.


Cancer care for senior citizens

Friday, October 5th, 2012

Oncologist Ajeet Gajra, associate professor of medicine at Upstate and the fellowship director in hematology/oncology, talks about cancer care for senior citizens.  About 60 percent of all cancers and more than 70 percent of all cancer deaths occur in the elderly, yet there is a lack of data regarding risks and benefits of cancer therapy in these older adults.


New lung cancer screening program at Upstate

Friday, September 14th, 2012

Linda VeitThoracic surgeon Leslie Kohman, medical director of the Upstate Cancer Center and the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Upstate, and Linda Veit, screening program coordinator and special projects manager of the new Cancer Center, reveal a promising new lung cancer screening using a low dose CT scan.

They also describe the beautiful new Upstate Cancer Center currently under construction, and some exciting new programs that will be offered in the future, including patient navigation, integrative therapies, and survivorship and palliative care outpatient programs.

For more information, call Upstate Connect at 464-8668.