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Living & Wellbeing

Know the Mutational Status of Your Cancer: Biomarker Testing in Metastatic Melanoma and Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma or metastatic colorectal cancer, chances are you’ve had to familiarize yourself with a lot of new terms and complicated concepts. One term you may not have heard before is “biomarker.” As researchers learn more about how cancer cells develop, grow, and spread, more attention is being paid to the role biomarkers play in these processes. For patients, undergoing biomarker testing helps their doctor/healthcare team determine whether or not...

An Immune System “GPS” Uncovers Pathways to Treat Diseases

When it comes to understanding the immune system, we’re in the age of a data “traffic jam.” Thanks to advances in gene sequencing technology and decades of research, we’ve amassed a huge trove of information, but utilizing it to drive new insights can be challenging. A collaboration with Israel-based startup CytoReason is allowing Pfizer scientists to harness computational technology that functions as a “GPS” for the immune system. The tools help to unpack these complex data sets so they can...

Real People

Getting to Know Pfizer’s New Chief Medical Officer Aida Habtezion

Changing careers in the middle of a pandemic is no small endeavor. But when Aida Habtezion, M.D., learned about the opportunity to serve as Pfizer’s new Chief Medical Officer, she couldn’t pass it up. “I felt it was a chance to make an impact on the health of millions of lives around the world, at a time when it’s never been needed more,” says Dr. Habtezion. Having lived in four countries and on three continents, the global focus of her new position mirrors Dr. Habtezion’s own values. As Chief...

Setting the Stage for a Fight: Enlisting T-cells to Combat Multiple Myeloma

Caption: T-cells (orange) can be redirected to engage and destroy cancer cells (blue) through the use of bispecific antibody technology, which enables a bridge to be formed between surface proteins overexpressed on tumor cells and T cells. (Getty/ illustration) In our immune system, subsets of T-cells exist that are “professional killers”. They’re constantly patrolling the body to eliminate problem cells, such as those that may turn cancerous or are infected by viruses. But cancer, as we know...

Living & Wellbeing

Pfizer's New C. difficile Awareness Initiative Explained

Pfizer recently convened experts representing a cross-section of healthcare professionals and patient organizations for a panel titled, “Clostridioides difficile: A public health threat in plain sight.” They first met during a panel discussion that coincided with Infectious Disease (ID) Week in late-2019 and served as a launchpad for the C. difficile Awareness Initiative, which will help educate the public about Clostridioides difficile (pronounced: klos-TRID-e-OY-dees dif-uh-SEEL)and C...

Adolescence – A Time for Vaccinations

Adolescent Health Concerns For many people in the U.S., adolescence is one of the healthiest times of life. Most parents hope to keep it that way for their young children and teenagers as they progress to young adulthood. The World Health Organization widely defines adolescence as a period of time that begins at the start of puberty and ends when an adult identity and behavior are accepted. Though the timing and extent of these changes may vary among young people, they usually happen from the...

Getting the Facts About Some Common Pregnancy Complications

Many mothers envision having an uneventful pregnancy with little to no symptoms and the delivery of a healthy, full-term baby. Thankfully, most pregnancies and deliveries go on without a hitch. However, for some expectant mothers, health problems do occur. The good news is that only 8% of pregnancies involve complications. These complications can involve the mother, baby or both. Even women who were healthy prior to getting pregnant can have complications. Though not all complications can be...

Living with Alopecia: A Young Woman’s Path to Self-Acceptance

Six years old is a young age to become a patient advocate for a health condition. But Laura Pellicano had no choice. In the summer between kindergarten and the first grade, she lost all of the hair on her head, and then soon after, her eyebrows, eyelashes, and all body hair.  Laura has alopecia universalis, the most advanced form of alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair to fall out on the scalp and/or the body. She dreaded returning to school. “The kids had questions and it's definitely...

Managing Your Mental Health During a Pandemic

The World Health Organization recently declared a pandemic in the wake of a global outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). And while the majority of people affected by the disease will recover without any long-lasting consequences, there are many others who will suffer the short-term and long-term health effects of stress, anxiety and other mental health complications. We all respond differently to stress and anxiety. Our response is often based on our family upbringing...

A Liver Disease Diagnosis Leads to Positive Lifestyle Changes

Jenni Tucker was a sophomore in college, studying to be a nurse, when the signs of her silent illness began to slowly appear. She felt tired all the time. She’d stay home all day, with no energy to get off the couch. The Southbridge, Mass. native was naturally pale, but she noticed her face lacked any color. Tucker, then 19, saw her doctor. And after a liver biopsy, she got a diagnosis that surprised her: she’d developed NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, the most severe form of non...

6 Ways to Help Manage Stress After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Pfizer’s Chief Patient Officer, Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, is partnering with other top health experts for the best tips on how to Get Healthy, Stay Healthy. Originally posted on Thrive Global.When you’re faced with a breast cancer diagnosis, stress levels can quickly reach an all-time high. Uncertainties about the future, worrying about treatment plans, balancing work, finances, and the sheer number of questions that occupy your mind can all play a role in building up this stress. And while there’s...

Why You May Need an Eczema Care Team

If you have atopic dermatitis—the most common type of eczema—you may be all too familiar with the periodic flare-ups and the itching that often is worse at night and can interfere with sleep.Along with atopic dermatitis, you may have other co-occurring conditions such as food allergies or asthma. You may also have an increased risk for co-existing conditions such as skin infections, heart disease, cancer, depression or anxiety. These issues can have both an emotional and social impact on your...