Cancer Immunotherapy Month is a series of educational and social events designed to raise awareness of this promising new cancer treatment. Check out some of the exciting activities we have planned for you!
June 1
Dr. Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, CRI CEO and Director of Scientific Affairs, talks about what’s new in June for the 9th Annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month, including new patient information in Spanish.
Diagnosed with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, Karen sought out an immunotherapy clinical trial. Now, she shares her story to help others discover they too can have access to better cancer care.
June 3
Karen refused to accept the standard diagnosis and treatment. She sought out a second opinion and researched clinical trials. She was given 18-24 months left to live. Now, five years later, she’s sharing her story.
June 4
Video - Immunotherapy Minute: Natural Killer Cells with CRI Fellow Dr. Oscar A. Aguilar
CRI Fellow Dr. Oscar A. Aguilar at the University of California, San Francisco explains how we might improve immunotherapy by harnessing the power of natural killer cells.
June 5
As an African American woman, Karen is acutely aware of the challenges in getting the best cancer care possible. That's why she shares her story and advocates for fellow cancer patients.
June 6
National Cancer Survivors Day® is a celebration for those who have survived, an inspiration for those recently diagnosed, a gathering of support for families, and an outreach to the community.
With a family history of cancer, Michaela made an appointment with a genetic counselor for her 40th birthday. That's how she discovered she had Lynch syndrome—knowledge that would help her get into the clinical trial that saved her life.
June 7
When oral cancer threatened to leave Rikki Rockett speechless, the drummer for Poison found and immunotherapy clinical trial. He has now been cancer-free for over four years.
June 8
CRI Postdoctoral Fellow Alexandria C. Wells, Ph.D., at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, aims to understand how cancer is influenced by bacteria.
June 9
Learn about headline-grabbing research, practice-changing medicine, and new innovations in cancer immunotherapy from the world's largest oncology conference.
After Dale started an immunotherapy clinical trial testing cemiplimab (Libtayo®) for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, life returned normal. He hopes that one day these treatments will be the norm for cancer patients everywhere.
June 10
“Fill your toolbox.” Michaela researched different treatment options for colorectal cancer, contacted oncologists and clinical trial leaders, asked questions about immunotherapy, and advocated for herself to get the best care possible.
June 11
Join Generation Cure and raise awareness of the lifesaving potential of cancer immunotherapy. Make a sign, snap a selfie, and share how you are making a future immune to cancer with the hashtag #Immune2Cancer on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
June 12
Michaela shares her cancer story to encourage people of Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities to vocalize their cancer experiences and help break down barriers in cancer care.
June 13
Susan Klaeger, Ph.D., a CRI-Hearst Foundations Fellow at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, discusses her role in improving personalized vaccines for cancer patients.
June 14
Mike’s daughter, Jade, encouraged him to get a second opinion on treatment for kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) that led him to enroll in a clinical trial. Within the first year, his tumors shrank almost in half the size.
June 17
Benny shares his experience and advice as a partner and caregiver to a cancer patient. When Kristin had a dangerous recurrence of leukemia, Benny became her primary caregiver. Providing emotional and physical support for his partner was a challenging and deeply rewarding experience that he gratefully reflects on today.
June 18
Over seven years ago, Kristin became one of the first patients to receive chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy in an outpatient setting for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and achieve remission. Today, she is cancer-free and passionate about spreading hope.
June 19
Asya Rolls, Ph.D., a CRI-ICRF Immunotherapy Promise Grantee at the Israel Institute of Technology, is decoding how our brain can affect the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.
June 20
Mike and his family make big decisions about his kidney cancer treatment and care together: getting a second opinion, enrolling in an immunotherapy clinical trial, and giving him energy when he needs it most.
June 20
In 2010, Donna was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer. She endured many difficult treatments with long-term side effects before enrolling in an immunotherapy clinical trial in 2018. After three infusions, she and her care team could see improvements. Conscious of the many cancer patients who participated in trials before her, Donna is proud to make her own contribution to the future of cancer treatment.
June 22
After she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Kristin was overwhelmed, but she found strength and hope with the love of family and friends and an outpouring of humanity and kindness. She enrolled in a phase one clinical trial of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy and finally achieved remission. Today, she encourages cancer patients to choose hope.
June 23
In this webinar for patients and caregivers, three CRI ImmunoAdvocates discuss redefining and navigating their lives after immunotherapy. Guest moderator Kristin Kleinhofer (leukemia) speaks to Gordon Levine (colorectal cancer) and Sunshine Pegues (lung cancer) about their unique cancer survivorship experiences, including the management of long-term side effects, continued self-advocacy and self-education, and their long-lasting relationships with their health care teams.
CRI Fellow Dr. Beiyun C. Liu of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is exploring if converting an immune-silencing form of cell death to immune-stimulating form of cell death may be able to unleash immune responses against solid tumors.
June 24
“I don’t feel like I have cancer.” After his kidney cancer diagnosis, Mike’s immunotherapy treatments allow him to live a normal, happy life spending time with his children and grandchildren.
June 25
CRI Postdoctoral Fellow Kamir Hiam-Galvez, Ph.D., of Stanford University, is using single-cell sequencing and lineage tracing to look at the gene regulatory networks that govern the state, fate, and behavior of helper T cells with the ultimate goal of characterizing the epigenetic landscape during their development.
June 26
"The doctors and my medical staff … they fight for me every step of the way." Donna spent months trying to find the right care team for her rare cancer diagnosis. She's happy to have found oncologists who feel like trusted guides for herself and her family through a difficult journey.
June 27
CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR Dr. Greg M. Delgoffe of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine explores how cancer metabolism influences the immune system and immunotherapy.
June 28
Donna's children were only eight and ten years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer, infundibulocystic basal cell carcinoma. As she and her husband struggled to get answers about her cancer and possible treatments, they also had to find ways to explain what was happening to their children. Now, more than a decade later, they speak with confidence about her immunotherapy and, most importantly, about the future.
June 29
CRI Postdoctoral Fellow Miguel Reina-Campos, Ph.D., of University of California, San Diego, is characterizing tissue-resident T cells and how they behave during infection to better understand how they might be manipulated against cancer. He will conduct a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session about cancer metabolism and the immune system on the CRI Reddit account.
June 30
“Choosing where you go is so, so, so important.” Lung cancer patient Oswald chose to receive care at a teaching hospital where doctors were not only aware of cutting-edge immunotherapies, but are often directly involved in clinical and scientific research.