Cancer Education Blog

It's a fairly common myth that African-Americans and other people of color don't get sunburned or get skin cancer. Unfortunately, this is not true. While Caucasians are definitely at higher risk, skin cancer still represents 1 to 2% of all cancers diagnosed in non-Hispanic black people and 4 to 5% in Hispanics. Because of this myth, however, a skin cancer diagnosis tends to come at a later stage, partly because it's harder to see on deeper-toned skin and partly because dark-skinned people are less likely to be screened regularly.

By: Jennifer Cashwell, MSN, FNP-BC

With the increasing success of cancer treatments and the ability to return to previous family, social, and work activities, symptom management and quality of life are essential for cancer survivorship. Mindfulness, meditation, and yoga have consistently shown benefits to cancer patients and survivors. They can decrease unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment, such as nausea and vomiting, reduce stress, increase a feeling of calm, improve mood and sleep quality, and increase mental acuity.

Detection, understanding, and treatment of prostate cancer have evolved rapidly in recent years. These discoveries have offered prostate cancer patients new hope and a need for a more multidisciplinary approach to care. 

Age is a Common Risk Factor for Cancer

If you don’t want cancer, don’t get old.

The National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and many other trustworthy organizations say aging is the number one risk factor for getting a cancer diagnosis. While cancer can develop at any age, the incidence of cancer climbs as we age, with the median age of diagnosis at 66 years, according to the NCI.

By: Bo Zhao, MD, PhD

Monoclonal gammopathy is a medical condition caused by abnormal proteins in the blood. These proteins grow from a small number of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, found in the bone marrow. The most common condition linked with these abnormal proteins is monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). It is not cancer but does put these patients in a higher risk category for developing cancer in the blood or bone marrow.

By: Michael A. Danso, MD

The advent of immunotherapy and genomic analyses of cancer cells has led to rapid evolution in treatment options for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). 

Recent and ongoing clinical trials have identified multiple therapies that may help cure more early-stage patients with this often-aggressive cancer, a form prevalent in both younger women and African Americans. 

By: Sonia E. Hepburn, MD

Until recently, breast cancer has remained largely in the background as immunotherapy has gained ground in treating many other types of cancer.

However, evidence now supports a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of breast cancer.

By: Jennifer Cashwell, MSN, FNP-BC

We receive a lot of very good questions about COVID vaccinations for cancer patients and patients with other hematologic conditions. Here you'll find a collection of commonly asked questions and the answers from our cancer specialists.

By: Kasey Fuqua

Breast Cancer Treatment Has Become More Tailored and Targeted

Treatment for breast cancer has come a long way from mastectomies and broad-spectrum chemotherapy. Thanks to new research and clinical trials, treatment has become more personalized—and conservative—than ever, improving not only survival rates but quality of life throughout survival. For the nearly 235,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year, these advances can’t come soon enough.

By J. Christopher Paschold, MD, FACP

Virginia Oncology Associates (VOA) was recently selected as one of only ten sites in the country to be part of a collaborative that includes McKesson and life science companies participating in a clinical research study called MYLUNG. MYLUNG stands for Molecularly Informed Lung Cancer Treatment in a Community Cancer Network: A Pragmatic Consortium. The work of this consortium, which will eventually involve more than 12,000 patients, is to better understand metastatic non-small cell lung cancer at the molecular level and develop more targeted treatment plans.