Dana Farber - Defy Cancer
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
The Jimmy Fund
Extraordinary Care

Extraordinary Care

Changing the trajectory of patient care worldwide.

U.S. News and World Report has named us the top ranked cancer center in New England for the past 20 years. Newsweek ranked us number three in the world. But more important than any of our rankings are our unmatched record of successes, and our extraordinary compassion and determination. Truly, our work is being transformed into treatments and protocols used around the globe to Defy Cancer.

Community Care & Cancer Care Equity

Community Care & Cancer Care Equity

We are dedicated to making Dana-Farber’s quality of care available to all who need it. Funds from The Dana-Farber Campaign will expand access to care, allowing us to reach even more patients and families by bringing high-quality treatments to underserved populations, hastening the pace and reach of our clinical trials, and working to address disparities in cancer prevention, care, outcomes, and survivorship. Gifts have enabled the opening of new locations at Chestnut Hill and Merrimack Valley; introduced a new phase of digital health tools designed to simplify patients’ care; and enhanced telehealth services that have been so vital in continuing...

We are dedicated to making Dana-Farber’s quality of care available to all who need it. Funds from The Dana-Farber Campaign will expand access to care, allowing us to reach even more patients and families by bringing high-quality treatments to underserved populations, hastening the pace and reach of our clinical trials, and working to address disparities in cancer prevention, care, outcomes, and survivorship.

Gifts have enabled the opening of new locations at Chestnut Hill and Merrimack Valley; introduced a new phase of digital health tools designed to simplify patients’ care; and enhanced telehealth services that have been so vital in continuing care and clinical trials during COVID-19.

Funds will grow our community outreach programs and partnerships with health centers and hospitals in the Boston metro area where many residents receive care. We will remove barriers to screenings in underserved communities for high-risk breast and prostate cancers and add the latest 3D technology to our mobile mammography van.

We will expand programs that help patients from diverse backgrounds receive equitable care and navigate the complexities of cancer treatment within health systems and through health insurance. We will enable individuals in underserved communities to connect to much needed social services during treatment. We will hire more experts to coordinate care seamlessly, reducing the time from diagnosis to the start of treatment and promoting greater participation in clinical trials by members of underserved populations.

For more information or questions, please contact Jenn Musso.

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Nursing and Clinical Programs

Nursing and Clinical Programs

At Dana-Farber, patients are at the heart of everything we do. This is not just a respectful approach—it is essential to realizing the best-possible health outcomes. It is how Dana-Farber has always operated, and it sets us apart.  We aspire to build on our strong legacy of innovation in care and develop new, patient-centered solutions that change the way cancer care is delivered. Our opportunity is to be the global model for transformation in oncology care by testing and proving novel ideas and incorporating technologies, new approaches, and new nursing science more fully and powerfully into the care we provide—ultimately improving outcomes...

At Dana-Farber, patients are at the heart of everything we do. This is not just a respectful approach—it is essential to realizing the best-possible health outcomes. It is how Dana-Farber has always operated, and it sets us apart. 

We aspire to build on our strong legacy of innovation in care and develop new, patient-centered solutions that change the way cancer care is delivered. Our opportunity is to be the global model for transformation in oncology care by testing and proving novel ideas and incorporating technologies, new approaches, and new nursing science more fully and powerfully into the care we provide—ultimately improving outcomes for patients everywhere.

​Support through The Dana-Farber Campaign will improve the patient experience by expediting efforts to improve symptom management and quality of life, and by boosting clinical innovation that will improve outcomes and change global standards for care. Campaign funds will also advance health equity, allowing us to expand patient assistance, diversity our clinical teams, and create an environment and workforce that better reflects our full community. In addition, this critical support will bolster career development efforts, helping us create a seamless pipeline of talented and diverse clinicians and allowing us to more fully support our care providers to avoid burnout. 

Together, we can change the future of patient-centered cancer care.

For more information or questions, please contact Taylor Brown.

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Signature Total Patient Care

Signature Total Patient Care

While Dr. Sidney Farber revolutionized cancer care globally with chemotherapy, his core philosophy of “Total Patient Care” was equally groundbreaking. Today, that philosophy, in which all patient services are provided in one place and decisions are made as a team with the patient, is at the heart of all we do. This unique and compassionate approach has not gone unnoticed. Dana-Farber has been awarded Magnet® status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center four times, a prestigious designation recognizing excellence in nursing practice and health care delivery. Such an honor has been awarded to only 8 percent of hospitals in the...

While Dr. Sidney Farber revolutionized cancer care globally with chemotherapy, his core philosophy of “Total Patient Care” was equally groundbreaking. Today, that philosophy, in which all patient services are provided in one place and decisions are made as a team with the patient, is at the heart of all we do.

This unique and compassionate approach has not gone unnoticed. Dana-Farber has been awarded Magnet® status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center four times, a prestigious designation recognizing excellence in nursing practice and health care delivery. Such an honor has been awarded to only 8 percent of hospitals in the U.S. Our adult and pediatric care programs are consistently ranked among the top programs in the U.S. and globally.

Cancer affects families and can derail lives in ways that extend beyond the medical, disrupting relationships, educational plans, careers and finances. Patients can face debilitating symptoms that make them feel like their health is beyond their control. Dana-Farber provides an array of services to combat these challenges.

Through the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living, we offer patients acupuncture, massage, Reiki; group programs (in-person and virtual) in yoga, movement, meditation, and the creative arts; exercise and nutritional counseling—all scientifically proven to improve quality of life and reduce stress and treatment side effects.

The Perini Family Survivors’ Center focuses research and care on the medical, emotional, and psychological challenges survivors face through its Adult Survivorship Program and, for children, in the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic. One of the nation’s first programs dedicated to young cancer survivors, the Perini Clinic offers support groups, exercise and nutrition counseling, sexual health programs, and community resource specialists to help survivors move forward with their lives.

Dana-Farber’s adult and pediatric Patient Assistance Programs defy cancer by helping vulnerable patients and families put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and get safely to and from the hospital.

Gifts to the campaign will enable us to create and fund programs seldom offered elsewhere that ease the physical and psychological challenges of living with, and after, cancer. They will inspire work in the lab that leads to clinical trials to improve survival rates. They will help us reach our ultimate goal: to stop all types of cancers in children and adults.

For more information or questions, please contact Jeff Bennett.

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Theranostics

Theranostics

Imagine if a single PET scan could detect cancer in a patient’s body—either primary tumors or those that have spread—and target it with drugs that simultaneously diagnose and eradicate the tumors. That is the promise of theranostics, an exciting new medical specialty being pioneered at Dana-Farber for diagnosing and treating cancer. In other medical specialties, this joint diagnostic-therapeutic approach is employed, for example, in cardiac catheterization, when a catheter is inserted into an artery to diagnose a blockage and then is used to place a stent and administer treatments. For cancer, the goal is to inject diagnostic agents into the...

Imagine if a single PET scan could detect cancer in a patient’s body—either primary tumors or those that have spread—and target it with drugs that simultaneously diagnose and eradicate the tumors. That is the promise of theranostics, an exciting new medical specialty being pioneered at Dana-Farber for diagnosing and treating cancer.

In other medical specialties, this joint diagnostic-therapeutic approach is employed, for example, in cardiac catheterization, when a catheter is inserted into an artery to diagnose a blockage and then is used to place a stent and administer treatments. For cancer, the goal is to inject diagnostic agents into the body that are monitored through PET scans to identify tumors with precision, then bind to specific proteins on each tumor cell and kill them. With imaging, clinicians can monitor the drug’s progress and watch as it detects and kills cancer cells.

Funds raised through The Dana-Farber Campaign will push forward this revolutionary approach to early diagnosis and precise treatment by funding high-grade equipment; financing pre-clinical studies and clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of potential chemical agents; hiring and training innovative staff to develop and administer the new theranostic treatments; and outfitting new, specialized theranostics facilities in Longwood and Chestnut Hill to allow for whole-body PET scans that are far faster than current standards.

Theranostics represents an entirely new way to Defy Cancer: by applying a radical approach to finding and treating cancers even earlier, and stopping their spread.

For more information or questions, please contact Amy Trapasso.

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Science of Care

Science of Care

At Dana-Farber, our investment in discovering the next ground-breaking cancer drug is matched by our commitment to providing patients with the most supportive care possible. Twenty-five years ago, we pioneered some of the first research on the effectiveness of palliative care to tend to the emotional and social needs of cancer patients and established the nation’s first palliative care training and education program. As the nation’s first cancer center to hire a full-time oncology social worker and establish a pediatric palliative care program, Dana-Farber is a global leader in psychosocial oncology and palliative care. For many patients with cancer, debilitating...

At Dana-Farber, our investment in discovering the next ground-breaking cancer drug is matched by our commitment to providing patients with the most supportive care possible. Twenty-five years ago, we pioneered some of the first research on the effectiveness of palliative care to tend to the emotional and social needs of cancer patients and established the nation’s first palliative care training and education program. As the nation’s first cancer center to hire a full-time oncology social worker and establish a pediatric palliative care program, Dana-Farber is a global leader in psychosocial oncology and palliative care.

For many patients with cancer, debilitating symptoms can limit their ability to manage the demands of everyday life and can make them feel as though their health is beyond their control. At Dana-Farber, giving patients back that sense of control is always top-of-mind. We have long believed–and our research now confirms–that patients benefit most when care tends to their emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, as well as their physical disease.

Gifts to the campaign will enhance our ability to integrate compassionate supportive care with industry-leading research to provide the best symptom management for today while developing innovative care models for the future.

Additional support will make it possible to harness big data, smartphone technology, and other resources to proactively identify patients supportive care needs, enhance doctor-patient communication, improve symptom management, and ultimately empower patients to live the best lives possible with cancer.

Funds raised through The Dana-Farber Campaign will enable us to provide more psychosocial and palliative care services, as well as caregiver support at all our Dana-Farber locations. We will create fellowships for researchers, nurses, social workers, and physicians to build on that legacy by training the next generation of leaders in this field. Based on rigorous science, our findings and practices will help improve care—not just at Dana-Farber but worldwide.

For more information or questions, please contact Jenn Musso.

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Grateful—Chris

Grateful—Chris

My son, Camden, was born an athlete. You name it—basketball, football, skiing, golf, tennis... Then, one day, he started having this recurring pain in his knee. We assumed it was some sort of injury or an issue with a ligament or muscle. But the pain didn’t go away, so we got a diagnosis. You never forget the moment they say the word, “cancer.” In Camden’s case, they called it, “osteosarcoma.” They said it was the most common type of bone cancer among kids and young adults. They also said part of Camden’s leg would need to be amputated. Then, we...

My son, Camden, was born an athlete. You name it—basketball, football, skiing, golf, tennis...

Then, one day, he started having this recurring pain in his knee. We assumed it was some sort of injury or an issue with a ligament or muscle. But the pain didn’t go away, so we got a diagnosis.

You never forget the moment they say the word, “cancer.”

In Camden’s case, they called it, “osteosarcoma.” They said it was the most common type of bone cancer among kids and young adults. They also said part of Camden’s leg would need to be amputated.

Then, we went to Dana-Farber.

The team quickly came up with a plan that involved chemotherapy and something called “rotationplasty.” Essentially, a procedure that preserved the cancer-free part of his lower leg and foot—and converted his ankle into a knee joint. Science is truly miraculous.

Just 18 months after the initial diagnosis, Camden was cancer-free—and he was back on the high school football team—playing quarterback. On the first play of his first game, Camden dropped way back and threw a 40-yard Hail Mary pass. Touchdown. Metaphor? Perhaps.

As an athlete, Camden has always understood the power of a strong team. A truth that was never made more clear than when he watched his Dana-Farber team in action. They are truly world champions. And for that, our family will always be grateful.

— Chris Bailey, father of Camden Bailey

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1,100 Clinical trials available to Dana-Farber patients
4 Dana-Farber has been awarded Magnet® status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center four times, a prestigious designation recognizing excellence in nursing practice and health care delivery. Such an honor has been awarded to only 8% of hospitals in the U.S.
97% Dana Farber has an astounding 97% patient satisfaction rate
6 Only institution ranked in the top six cancer centers in the U.S. for both pediatric and adult cancer by U.S. News and World Report
Dana-Farber facilitates more than 500,000 adult and pediatric outpatient clinic visits and infusions annually. 500,000
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Founded in Boston in 1947, Dana-Farber is a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center that develops and disseminates innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries throughout the world. About Our Patient Stories: Dana-Farber shares patient stories which may include descriptions of actual medical results. Dana-Farber provides personalized care for each patient based on their unique needs; their experiences and results will vary.

At Dana-Farber we are committed to an inclusive community where human differences are valued and celebrated, and where all are welcome. We work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where each patient, family, and staff member feels valued and respected.