Diseases & Conditions Articles
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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Purpose & Ideals
Hiding in Plain Sight: The Racial Toll of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States.1 Caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and spread through infected tick bites, it affects an estimated 476,000 Americans each year.1,3Yet the burden of Lyme disease, particularly the experience of a timely diagnosis, isn’t shared equally.Despite its prevalence, the face of Lyme disease in public health data is overwhelmingly white. In the United States, surveillance data shows that over 90% of Lyme...
Science & Innovation
Pursuing the Next Breakthrough in Cancer Cachexia
Cachexia, a complex wasting syndrome, impacts an estimated 9 million people worldwide.[i] In people living with cancer, cachexia can diminish the tolerance of therapies and is linked to reduced survival rates. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments targeting its underlying cause.Over time, the way researchers and physicians understand cachexia has evolved, with growing focus on uncovering the biology behind this devastating disease.In an effort to address a critical gap in care and help...
Science & Innovation
Developing a Path Forward in Cancer Cachexia
Across disciplines, therapeutic areas, and even continents, Pfizer scientists have been working to advance understanding of – and potential treatments for – cachexia, a complex metabolic condition associated with certain chronic conditions, such as cancer, and characterized by severe weight loss, decreased appetite, fatigue, and muscle wasting. Its symptoms can often be misattributed, and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments targeting its root cause.But, over the past decade, the...
Science & Innovation
In Search of a New Hemophilia Treatment
Despite significant advancements in hemophilia treatments over the past several decades, a fundamental challenge remains for many patients: balancing management of the disorder while maintaining regular day-to-day activities.Historically, treatments could be cumbersome and time-consuming to administer. They typically required intravenous administration up to several times a week to prevent bleeding episodes.1 Even treatments that could be administered at home required infusions multiple times a...
Science & Innovation
What You Need to Know About a Promising Vaccine Candidate that May Stem the Growing Risk of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States.1 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that state health departments reported over 63,000 cases in 2022.2 However, the CDC uses other methods to estimate that approximately 476,000 people in the U.S. may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually.2In other words, the estimated number of Lyme disease cases in the U.S. seems to be much higher than what is being reported to public health...
Science & Innovation
A New Road to Migraine Relief
Migraine, a debilitating neurological disorder,1 affects over a billion people globally.2,3 The cause of migraine remains an active area of research–experts believe genetics, the nervous system, and the brain's blood vessels are involved in the condition.4,5 The majority of people have episodic migraine, experiencing between 0-14 days of headache per month.6 On the other hand, those with chronic migraine experience 15 or more days of headaches a month, with at least 8 of those days caused by...
Living & Wellbeing
How Climate Change is Affecting the Spread of Lyme Disease—and 5 Things You Need to Know About the Disease
As the weather gets warmer, many of us will be spending more time outside, indulging in our favorite summer activities—and exposing ourselves to the elements, including a booming tick population. The incidence of Lyme disease has more than doubled over the last 24 years1 because populations of disease-carrying Ixodes ticks, better known as black-legged or deer ticks, have increased and expanded their ranges.2You don’t need to cancel summer adventures, but understanding ticks, the impact of...
Real People
Advocacy, Strength, and Hope in the Face of Metastatic Melanoma: Bruce and Chris's Story
In 2013, Bruce’s life changed. He was living in sunny Florida with Chris, his wife of over 20 years, when he received an unexpected diagnosis: metastatic melanoma—the most aggressive form of skin cancer.1,2It was a disease Bruce had heard of before—a disease that will impact over 100,000 people in the U.S. this year and 510,000 people across the world by 2040.2,3 But it didn’t cross his mind when he noticed a small lesion on the top of his foot. Chris encouraged Bruce to get it checked out. In...
Purpose & Ideals
Cancer Survivors' 'Butterfly Club' Network Fosters Support and Partnership
For many cancer survivors, life splits into two stages: before cancer and after cancer. That’s been the case for Lynette Bojko, Pfizer’s Head of Strategic Sourcing & Business Management. She was diagnosed with breast cancer just before her 40th birthday. “Unfortunately or fortunately, cancer is a lot of my identity,” she says. When treatment began, she didn’t want to hide what she was going through at the office, so she talked about it. That openness allowed her to connect with colleagues who...
Real People
The Butterfly Club: Stories of Volunteers that Colleagues with Cancer Can Lean On
When Nikki Shaffer was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35, she had so many questions. How should she tell her three young children about it? Should she keep working? Would she see her kids grow up?That was in 2009. As Shaffer went through treatment, a non-profit connected her with other cancer survivors, but she didn’t click with anyone. “They connected me to people who were in their 50s when they were diagnosed, and their questions and their concerns were not the same as mine,” says Shaffer...
Living & Wellbeing
Adolescents with Alopecia Areata: What Caregivers Should Know
A lot of kids just want to fit in.1 But for too many, hair loss makes them stand out. For the one in 1,000 children and teens diagnosed with alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the hair follicles, hair loss can create practical challenges.2,3Youth with AA might feel too self-conscious for selfies, refuse to go out without a hat, or decline invitations to swimming parties or sports leagues for fear their wigs will fall off. In a 2017 study of 69...
Purpose & Ideals
Migraine in the Workplace and Creating a Safe Space
One billion people worldwide live with migraine; that’s about one in seven. At those odds, there’s a high probability that each of us works with someone who experiences migraine. And if you’re an employer, this could mean that migraine in the workplace could have a significant impact on your workforce.Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease that causes intense pain in the head, as well as other sensory and/or motor dysfunction. Migraine attacks usually include symptoms like nausea...
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