From the President
Among the most common questions about cancer are why is it so hard to treat and so difficult to cure? Part of the answer lies in the complexity of the disease. For a cancer to form, there must be what engineers call multiple-system failures: malfunctions in several genes, an inability of the immune system to destroy the tumor, and the unwanted cells' potential to spread to other parts of the body.
Another reason is cancer's resiliency, its penchant for returning after initial treatments push it into remission or hold it in check. In this issue of Paths of Progress, you'll read about the problem of drug resistance, and research at Dana-Farber focused on overcoming the problem.
From everything we've learned about cancer, we know that defeating it will require as much resilience on our part—as scientists, caregivers, patients, Institute volunteers, and supporters—as the disease itself possesses. Among the best examples of this kind of resourcefulness are cancer survivors, the millions of people who are living during and after treatment. As articles in this edition describe, Dana-Farber has long been at the forefront of care and research for survivors, not only to improve their quality of life, but also to brighten the outlook for future generations of them.
The importance of persistence in the fight against cancer is a theme of other stories as well: in a conversation with Dana-Farber Physician-in-Chief Emeritus Emil "Tom" Frei III, MD, who battled scientific skepticism to prove that combinations of drugs could be effective against cancer, and in a profile of Shonda Schilling, wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who has been a relentless campaigner for skin cancer awareness since her own battle with melanoma.
The toll of cancer on individuals, families, and society permits no letup in our efforts to understand and control it. Consider Paths of Progress as a frontlines report on how we're intensifying the fight.
Edward J. Benz Jr., MD
President, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
