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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Mendez Boxing and Checking in at Gotham Gym
Yesterday, the Haymakers team got another early start to their day! First up, at 6 am, was Peter Chidyllo at Mendez Boxing. We first saw Peter working the mitts in the ring, and doing push-ups and sit-ups on his off rounds. Then he was off like a bunny and on the bag for a ton of rounds. Peter has great intensity, and can't wait until his big fight on November 8th!After Peter, we made our way over to Gotham Gym in the West Village to check in with Tim Kiely. Tim was a linebacker at Williams College, and boy could we tell- he's huge! He also stood out with a giant mop of blonde hair on his head! Tim did some drills and hit the mitts in the ring, looking good.Next up, was our second Brit, Jamie McDonald, who is training with his own personal trainer. Jamie ran the marathon a few years ago, but claims to be "wayyy out of shape!" (he even showed us his belly...). Within five minutes of the workout, Jamie was already complaining about doing too many "press-ups" and that he couldn't feel his arms! The next complaint was that his knuckles hurt. After we stopped laughing, we noticed Jamie's super quick feet and good form. We have total faith that he will be "super fit!"Later in the evening, we made our way back to Mendez (they're not sick of us...yet) to see Haymakers' friend, Grant Hewit, who is finally stepping in the ring! Grant was a lacrosse player at Princeton and also claims to be out of shape. Although he was sweaty (I mean, who isn't in there- it's like a sweat lodge!), he was moving well, and showed really good, strong punches. Co-founder Andrew, even held the bag for him and later commented on his power. Grant looked great, and we could see him gaining more confidence by the moment.All four guys are itching to fight, and are super excited for the big night- November 8th, at the Roseland Ballroom, for Haymakers for Hope's first NYC event!To check out all of Peter's training photos: Click HereTo check out all of Tim's training photos: Click HereTo check out all of Jamie's training photos: Click HereTo check out all of Grant's training photos: Click Here
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Back and Forth from Mendez to Trinity
Thursday was an action packed day for the Haymakers team. First off, we went to see Jamie McDonald (pictured left). Jamie's first training session was laugh out loud funny, but this time, things got slightly serious. Jamie was doing drills, hitting the mitts and the bag, and complaining the whole time! He even posed with his trainer (who is about four times his size) for a laugh for his friends and family across the pond. After that, we went over to Mendez Boxing to check in with Grant Hewit, who we only got to see warm up before we were off again on the subway.Our next stop was Trinity Boxing to see both Joe Mele and Eric Goldfisher. Joe hopped in the ring to spar for a round, with Eric going in a few rounds later. Both guys looked great, and were totally fierce once they got their head gears on. After that, it was back to the subway, and back to Mendez to see Johnny Ayers, Jeff Gelband, Claudio Ochoa, and Tom Hedus. Johnny was in full Mendez-mode, not even taking breaks in between rounds. He was all over the gym- in the ring, on the speed bag, wherever! Jeff, who has been training on and off for a few years, looked very natural and did a little shadow boxing in the ring. Claudio had one of his first sessions at Mendez, and was working with a trainer in the ring, moving around, and getting hit in the face! Meanwhile, Tom was getting some cardio in, and then started hitting the heavy bag.All eight guys were looking sharp, and more intense than the last time we saw them. Be sure to come and see the culmination of all their hard work on November 8th at Roseland Ballroom for Haymakers for Hope's inaugural NYC event!To support any of the fighters in their goal to knockout cancer: DONATE HERE
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Nonantum: all the grit and none of the bullshit
At Nonantum Boxing Club, you earn your way in. Just ask Tom O’Toole, Nick LaMothe and Lydia Davis, the latest crop of Haymakers for Hope fighters to come out of this old-school gym. Just weeks ago, they had their big moment in the 2016 Rock N Rumble at the House of Blues when the novices climbed into the ring carrying the confidence they rightfully earned in blood, sweat and tears at a gym where even Rocky would have fit right in.Tucked into the quiet Nonantum neighborhood of Newton (also known locally as “The Lake”), the Nonantum Boxing Club (NBC) personifies the grit of boxing: downstairs, heavy bags swing in neat rows along the expanse of the former warehouse space, while upstairs two boxing rings share quarters with free weights, more heavy bags and a wall of mirrors meant for the perfecting of one’s fighting form. Not exactly worn out, the place is most definitely broken in. This is a place where fighters come to find out what they’re made of, and in doing so, often find something else: a second home.“Boxing is a strange sport,” says Nick LaMothe, 28, who didn’t belong to any boxing gym until he signed up for Haymakers and was pointed toward NBC. “When you first walk in, you're a bit of an outsider. It’s a bit awkward getting paired up to work with other guys and you know you're so far behind and probably a disappointment to them while they are trying to get some real work in. But as you start to spar and really get some contact, show you can take a punch and hopefully throw one, the bonds grow and everyone rallies behind each other.” They also push each other. For LaMothe that meant early-morning workouts with his trainer, Brian Bannon, 3 days a week, plus group drills and sparring with other guys in the gym.“I can't say enough about Brian’s commitment to my success and his desire see me perform well,” says LaMothe. “The other great thing about NBC is that it's very much a teaching environment. From the top and most experienced trainers down to the guys I sparred with each week, everyone offers pointers, makes themselves available for drills, and supports the collective learning experience. It's been great.”The gym’s commitment to the fighters can be a blessing or maybe a curse. For Tom O’Toole, who was also sent to NBC by the Haymakers team, realizing what was in store for him was a bit daunting at first.“I met Marc Gargaro (one of NBC’s owners) on my first day,” says O’Toole, who had never boxed before. “He was very welcoming and then he said, ‘We expect you here 6 days a week.’ I have three kids and a full-time job! It was pretty disruptive at first, but we worked it out. I love the vibe in the gym. It’s very gritty. People go in there and work hard and they expect you to work hard. They definitely raised my game.”O’Toole trained for the fight with Johnny Sementelli, a 6’3” former college football player who started boxing when the gym opened up in his neighborhood nine years ago. He fought in Haymakers in 2012, and has had 10 amateur bouts since. He’s also a proud part of the family that runs Nonantum. O’Toole is the sixth fighter to climb into the Haymakers ring under Sementelli’s tutelage, though it almost didn’t happen. Halfway through training, O’Toole suffered a rib injury and dropped out briefly. “But he actually recovered well, so he went for it,” Semetelli says.Preparing a novice like O’Toole for the Haymakers ring has been a highlight of Sementelli’s training career at Nonantum. “Most of the Haymakers guys are starting at ground zero and basically taking a crash course in boxing,” he says. “They only have 4 months to prepare for an officially sanctioned USA Boxing amateur bout. It's pretty amazing how far they come in such a short time. It takes a lot of guts to step in that ring in front of a huge crowd at the House of Blues, so they should feel a huge sense of accomplishment no matter what the outcome is. These competitors train extremely hard—shadow boxing, mitts, sparring, road work, bag work—to get their bodies physically and mentally prepared to get in the ring for only 6 minutes. It doesn't sound like much, but it is absolutely exhausting! I enjoy being a part of a very exciting event, to raise money for a great cause, and seeing these people transform and to be able to check something off their bucket list that they never expected they could do, or would do.” Boxing in a Haymakers event was certainly not on Lydia Davis’ bucket list when she first joined Nonantum to take boxing classes “just for fitness” a few years ago. But all of that changed when she watched her friend fight in the Belles last fall.“I became completely caught up in the buzz of the event and could almost feel a sense of inevitability that I would throw my name into the hat,” recalls Davis, an expat from the UK who lives in Newton. “I’d only taken boxing classes for fitness. I soon learned that it’s a completely different experience to prepare for a fight! Nothing actually prepares you for the extreme highs and lows that come with training. There really are good days, bad days, and sometimes even good minutes, and bad minutes during a session! I love the crowd that I trained with; they made it all worthwhile. And I’m really enjoying the fact that, in my mid 40’s, I’ve learned a completely new skill set. The flip side of that is the total frustration at not being as good as you’d like to be. But from what I hear, you can box for 20 years and still feel like that!”Training with Marc Gargaro and Dena Lawton, Davis says she couldn’t have asked for better coaches. “Both are amazing in terms of their knowledge, experience, support and ability to keep their sense of humor!”All three Haymakers novices benefitted from working out with Nonantum’s growing stable of Haymakers alumni, who always pitch in to help with sparring, mitt work and plenty of encouragement.In particular, Haymakers veteran Christine Corcoran has been thrilled to be able to share her insights and advice, garnered from not one, but two Haymakers fights. It’s a rare opportunity that came along in no small part because of her love of the sport and her gym.A cousin got Corcoran to try boxing at NBC in the fall of 2012, and it was an instant love affair.“I think it was fate for me to find Nonantum, because it is not just the boxing gym I go to, it's family—my closest friends. I met my boyfriend there. I met Julie Kelly there. She is actually the first person I ever sparred.” Which, Corcoran says, was kind of a joke. “She was like, ‘Want a birthday beating?’ And I was like, ‘Why not?!’ So she went light and I finally landed one and said ‘sorry!’ and then she hit me with a body shot and goes, ‘Never say sorry!’ Lesson learned!” Corcoran never signed up for Haymakers. Instead, in the late summer of 2013, Julie Kelly called to ask her to fill in for a fighter that dropped out of the Belles of the Brawl. Aside from “that one birthday beating” Corcoran had never sparred, and had only used the heavy bags in classes. “But,” she says, “I love Julie Kelly so saying no wasn’t an option.”With only a month to prepare, she didn't really have time to think about it. “That ‘oh shit what did I get myself into? ’feeling never came,” she says. “And I was confident. The nerves were slightly there because of the crowd, but otherwise I was ready and I got the second round TKO.” Last May, Corcoran fought again as a fill-in, though she stepped in early enough to enjoy the full experience of media day, and to have an “amazing” training camp with Marc Gargaro and Dena Lawton. “Dena beat the shit out of me every Wednesday,” says Corcoran. “Without her hard work with me in the ring and support in my corner, I wouldn't be the boxer I am today. And Marc. I feel like it's hard to describe how talented he is as a coach. He just knows. His mitt work, his knowledge of the sport, and how much he cares… I consider myself extremely lucky.”And, while she calls Nonantum her family and her home, Corcoran will be the first to tell you it doesn’t happen overnight.“What I love about Nonantum Boxing Club is that you have to earn your way in,” she says. “You have to have the work ethic and the heart to do it. It's a little rough around the edges; it's a small business gym, my kind of place and my kind of people. Everyone is there to work hard, and they help each other. We have talented trainers, talented fighters, and all of the heart.” Margie Kelley is a mom, freelance writer, master gardener and sometimes boxer. She fought in the 2013 Belles of the Brawl in Boston, and managed to convince her husband, Chris Fitzpatrick, to fight in the Rock ‘n Rumble in 2015. Settling arguments has taken on a whole new meaning in their house!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
From Breathless to Badass
All Laura Stokes really had in mind that day, about twoyears ago, was to get in shape so she could keep up with her very activebrother and sister, who loved to go on long hikes in the woods.“I was breathless, out of shape and ashamed, “ says Stokes,a 20-something who’d been too busy caring for very sick patients in her job asa pediatric oncology nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital to give any thought totaking care of herself. “I definitelywasn’t living a very healthy life.”When she couldn’t keep up with her brother one day, hedecided to help her make a change. He heard about a boxing gym near her house,so for Christmas, he gave her a pair of boxing gloves and three trainingsessions with personal trainer Tracey Pierce, at Elite Boxing & Fitness. “It was really cool, but it took me until the followingAugust to actually make that first appointment,” says Stokes.She joined the gym, despite the fact that she “hated everysingle minute of every training session. And that was just conditioning. “It took Stokes almost 9 months to finally try boxing.“It was another year later that I went with all the girlsfrom the gym to see Liz Weber’s fight in the Belles of the Brawl,” she says. “Iremember thinking, ‘this is the coolest thing EVER!’ but couldn’t quite seemyself there. Then I read something Liz posted about her Haymakers journey.”Weber, who’d found boxing after a rough patch in her life,wrote, “…I can't even explain themental/emotional shift, except to say that two years ago I felt like a loser,and now I feel like a fighter, whether things are going my way or not.”“That quote made me realize that Liz had started like me,and she did this amazing thing,” says Stokes. “I didn’t think it was somethinga normal person could do!”The day after Weber’s fight, Stokes found herself at the gymwith Tracey “half-joking” about her doing Haymakers the following year.“Literally a week later, I started training with Zach,” saysStokes. That was November 2015.Stokes will be the first to fess up to being a tough personto coach. She argued. She complained. She resisted. But she met her match inZach Reay, the boxing director at Elite, who has taken 13 fighters to Haymakerssince 2012, including his most recent Belles fighters Michelle Fox, Sue Bator,and Stokes. Through group classes, team sparring and one-on-one trainingsessions, Reay pushed Stokes far beyond her limits and slowly, steadily, turnedher into a fighter.“I was not a picnic to train. I had no self esteem, no confidenceand no self respect,” she says. “I fought with him a lot. One time he basically screamed at me theentire time. But because of him I understand how boxing works. It’s why he’s sogood.”Stokes also had her own way to stay motivated.“I started giving myself little rewards for improvingendurance or strength,” she says. “So Imarked the moments when I could work a 3-minute round without a break, and whenI went from barely able to do one proper push up to where I could do 100. WhenI hit a big weight goal, I gave myself new gloves. When I could do 100 leglifts, I bought headgear. When I did 10 double-unders in a row, I got a newgear bag.“And Zach gave me mitts when I hit another weight goal and aT-shirt when I managed a 2-minute plank.”By the time fight night rolled around, Stokes had crushedall of her goals, including the big one: she lost 90 lbs. over the two yearssince she first set foot in the gym.“Boxing changed everything for me, at home and at work,” shesays. “Training for Haymakers was really hard. In order to train before some ofmy nursing shifts, I had to get up at 3:30 in the morning. I felt really sorryfor myself. I would think, ‘why am I doing this? It is much harder than I everthought it would be.’ But then one day, I was outside a young patient’s room—ateenager who was on a lot of meds and had tubes everywhere and he always wokeup feeling really crappy, and it hit me. That—THAT—is so much harder than what I was doing. I don’t have to gothrough that, like he does, and I don’t have to be his mom or siblings watchinghim go through it.“So yeah, working with kids—cancer patients—this job gave meexceptional perspective on the training. I never looked at it the same wayafter that.”As word of her Haymakers training spread through thehospital, Stokes was finding a groundswell of support among her patients andtheir families, as well as the medical staff.“I was getting so much inspiration from both the gym and atwork,” she says. “Some of my coworkers did challenges with me like running orbox jumps or pushups. And some of the kids liked to help me by punching me.They were in it to win it with me. They believed in me so I started to believein myself. I was starting to feel proud.”In all, Stokes sold 110 tickets to the fight and raisedalmost $17,000 in primarily small donations. By the time she climbed in the ring, no one was more readythan Stokes. “I had everybody there. I just knew I had to do my best forthem and for myself. And then— Iwas so shocked when I won!”Two of Stokes’ younger patients — Kinzie, 7, and Paris, 13,even served as Ring Card Girls for fight night and both walked the ringtogether for Stokes’ bout. “That was incredible,” she says. “Paris said it was one ofthe coolest nights of her life, partly because she got to meet other people whohad been through cancer. I had a bloody nose after the fight, and Kinzie saidto me: ‘this is funny, you usually are the one who takes care of my bloodynoses!’”As for Stokes, nothing else in her life could compare withwhat she’d just done. “It really was the best night of my life,” she says. “I justwanted to soak it all in and be in the moment. In the last two years, my lifehas changed so much. “Now that the training is done, I am looking for balance,and learning to be happy and healthy,” says Stokes, adding that she’s nowenjoying routine 10-mile hikes with her siblings and her dog. “I’m grateful to come out of this experiencea smaller—yet bigger—person.”
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Why We Haven't Won The War On Cancer
Why haven’t we wonthe war on cancer?Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US,killing nearly 600,000 people annually and only slightly behind heart diseasein overall mortality. President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of1971 into law, declaring a “war on cancer,” with the hope that the battle wouldbe quickly won. But 45 years later, after the investment of billions of dollarsby the US government, private industry, and charitable foundations, the warwages on.Part of the problem is that cancer is not a disease likesmallpox or cholera, in which we can wipe out the virus or bacteria that causesdisease, or for which we can develop therapies to help the body fight it.Instead, cancer is a disease in which the body turns against itself. In cancer,cells begin growing out of control, often losing their original functions, andeventually invading other sites around the body, disrupting tissues and organs,and draining resources from other essential processes.In the war on cancer, we have made an investment in a triadof interventions: prevention, detection, and treatment. Prevention is theeasiest to understand, but at best we can reduce our risk. Cancers arisebecause of a combination of genes, environment, and chance. We can’t change ourgenetic risk, we can’t eliminate random chance, but we can intervene in theenvironment. There are many environmental factors known to contribute to cancerrisk. Lung cancer, which kills more people than any other cancer, is largelydriven by smoking and smoke exposure. And while public education investmentshave dramatically decreased smoking rates, cigarettes and smoke exposure remainthe most significant “preventable” source of cancer. There are other interventions that can lower our risk ofcancer. Vaccinating pre-teens against the human papilloma virus (HPV) canreduce incidence of some cancers later in life, including those of the cervix,penis, anus, and head and neck. Taking an 81mg baby aspirin daily has beenshown to reduce incidence of colorectal cancer (ask your doctor before startingto take daily doses of aspirin). And the World Cancer Research Fund estimatesthat about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the US are related to body fatness,physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition, and thuscould also be prevented[1].Detection is the area where we’ve made progress. The earlier wecatch cancer, the more likely the disease can be cured through surgery orchemotherapy. But while we are developing more sensitive and specific detectionmethods, many, like colonoscopy (recommended for men and women starting intheir 50’s) and mammograms are not performed as regularly as they should be. Newtechnologies that look for circulating tumor cells or tumor DNA are now gettinga lot of attention in hopes that accurate blood tests may one day be used toscreen for cancer.And finally, there are new therapies. As we have come torecognize that even cancer of a single tissue is a diverse, complex disease,new “targeted therapies” coupled with diagnostic tests are starting to usher inthe use of “precision medicine” in which therapies are tailored to each patientbased on their tumor’s unique genetic mutations. And immunotherapies, in whicha patient’s immune system is activated to fight their tumor, are now makingtheir way into the clinic. But even with the best therapies, cancer is anelusive beast—one that is changing and adapting in each patient, trying toescape eradication.While we have made great progress, more work needs to bedone. That’s why your contributions through Haymakers for Hope and othercharities is so important. As a cancer researcher, I can tell you that everypunch you’ve taken in raising funds is a blow in the ongoing fight to defeatcancer. So thanks to all of you for your contributions. Now get back in the gymand keep fighting.Chin down, hands up!John Quackenbush [1] World CancerResearch Fund /American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition,Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective.Washington DC: AICR, 2007.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Mendez-Trinity-Mendez- and then Gleason's Gym...
Friday was an exciting morning for the Haymakers team- running all over! First up, was Mendez Boxing to see Jim Paolino. Jim sparred a few rounds in the ring with his trainer, and then did drills and hit the bag. Next up was Trinity boxing to check in with John McDonald. We saw John warm up, and start moving around with his trainer, before we were off again, back to Mendez. There, we met up with Peter Meskouris. We saw him both in the ring, and on the heavy bag.Our last stop for the day was in Brooklyn for Ari Untracht at Gleason's Gym (pictured left). Ari was lucky, and came into the gym at an off time, so he basically had the place to himself! Ari trains with an elevation mask, for both his lungs, and intimidation. We saw him shadow box a few rounds and then hit the heavy heavy bag.Each of these guys are counting down until November 8th, when all of their hard work will be shown off at Haymakers for Hope's inaugural NYC event at Roseland Ballroom!To support any of the fighters in their goal to knockout cancer: DONATE HERE
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Belles of the Brawl V: Adriana Kosiba
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Belles of the Brawl V in Boston on October 5th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether they've had first hand experience, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Adriana Kosiba, fighting out of EverybodyFights in South Boston.Where are you from? We moved quite a bit growing up, but a majority of the time I was in Florida or Massachusetts. I’ve now live in South Boston for the last 15 years, seems like forever!Where’d you go to college? University of Massachusetts – Amherst!Did you play any sports growing up? I grew up playing soccer but my true love was running, I even ran track and high-jumped in college. Running has always been an important part of my fitness routine. I transitioned to longer distances a few years ago and have since run 15 half marathons and one full!What do you do for work? I’m a Senior Account Executive for Pandora Radio, I’ve been in some sort of media for the past 12 years.Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? Definitely not, though I’m not the passive type so I suppose I’m not really surprised. Truth be told, I really enjoy punching things. My husband and I joined EBF about 6 months before our wedding in 2015 and I’ve never looked back.Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? Why not? If this is something I can do for those who are unable to, I have no reason to not step into the ring on October 5th. On a personal level, I fight to stay healthy each and every day; I have an auto-immune disease I’ve battled for the last 20 years.You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure – Where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? Everywhere you turn, someone is fighting for something--incredible causes and even their lives. My mother was recently diagnosed with cancer, I want her to know I’m there fighting with her and for her. She doesn’t have to face this alone.There’s so much in life we have no control over; my choosing to be involved with this incredible event is my contribution towards finding a cure. I want to be a force-not only in the ring but in driving further awareness of and raising funds for cancer research.What is going to be the most difficult thing to give up during your training? (beer, cheeseburgers, time spent watching TV?) Carbs! Especially pizza and pasta. And of course, sleep, 4am wake-ups come at you pretty early!When you’re not throwing punches and training -- what other hobbies/interests do you have? I love to eat so for me a love of cooking was only natural. My husband and I share a love of traveling as well, so as often as we can we try and go to a new country to explore…and of course, eat. We spend a lot of time on the Cape, the beach is my happy place. We also have two dogs, Bruce and Lola, and spend as much time as possible with them.Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? Hands down, my husband, Frank. He’s been in my corner for 6 years and I couldn’t imagine going through this without him. Frank is there for me no matter my mood -- when I need his incredible positivity or a shoulder to cry on. He is my strength!Be sure to check out her fundraising page here and wish her luck! Best of luck, Adriana!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Exciting New Cancer Research
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and it's affiliates have been doing some very exciting work in the battle against cancer. Below are three links to recent articles exemplifying the innovative work being done. The first, is an article detailing what researchers at Brigham and Women's are doing to fight melanoma, which is the 5th leading cause of cancer deaths and the leading cause of skin cancer deaths. The team of doctors have discovered that mutated melanoma cells are very similar to healthy cells except they lack a specific chemical mark in the genome. By injecting the mutated cells with this chemical mark, researchers have found that the growth of the mutated cells was stunted. This has huge implications into the treatment of melanoma, and could potentially be a a very big breakthrough for scientists.The next article, explains how researchers are targeting the signature "fingerprint" of cancer stem cells. Tumors develop from the unchecked growth of these cancerous cells, which resemble healthy cells except for a slight mutation. This team of doctors has identified the signature difference of many different types of cancer cells, and this should prove as a starting point on how to attack the cells. By attacking the mutation in the cell, doctors can attempt to keep tumors from growing.The last article, details how researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found that current drugs or drugs that are currently being developed have had success in battling squamous cell lung cancer. Squamous cell lung cancer kills 50,000 Americans every year, most of whom were smokers. Similar to the two previous article, this team at Dana-Farber have discovered the mutations in squamous cell lung cancer, and have successfully battled those mutations with drugs that are already available. This could be a major breakthrough in the treatment of lung cancer.To Read more about stunting the growth of melanoma cells: Click HereTo Read more about cancer stem-cells and their signature "fingerprint": Click HereTo Read more about battling squamous cell lung cancer: Click Here
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
In honor of breast cancer awareness month we have a couple posts about some major breakthroughs in breast cancer research. The first link is about how teams at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified some differing characteristics in the four different types of breast cancer, which will allow doctors to combat each type accordingly. Each type is slightly different, so they all require specialized types of treatment. This is a ground breaking discovery in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.The second link is an NPR interview of breast cancer specialist and what they have been doing to find cures. Listen to here what they have to say!Good luck to all of those who are battling breast cancer, we take this time to honor you and your fight.Link OneLink Two
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Aspirin a Cure for Colon Cancer?
A recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School has shown that aspirin is potentially a tool to fight a certain type of mutation in colon cancer. About one-sixth of all colon cancers have this particular mutation, but patients who took aspirin lived longer then those that didn't. The study wasn't designed to test aspirin's affects on colon cancer, this hypothesis was discovered as a by-product of doing other research. More testing is needed to determine if aspirin actually does have an affect at battling this specific mutation.Even though the study isn't a conclusive answer, the possibilities that it brings to the table are tremendous. If aspirin, which is one of the cheapest pharmaceutical drugs and readily available, can be used to fight cancer, the overall cost will decrease traumatically. This brings new hope to people who are struggling to afford their treatments, and if something as affordable as aspirin can help then it is a huge relief for everyone. To read the complete article: Click Here
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