Capturing the Pandemic Experience in Haiku Poetry – Duke Today

The COVID-19 pandemic and the events since March 2020 left us with indelible experiences. From quirks of remote work to powerful emotions stemming from the way the pandemic intersects with our lives, poetry can be a healthy and fun way to process moments and feelings.

To celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day on April 17, Working@Duke asked staff and faculty to use the Japanese poetry form of haiku poems of three lines with five, seven and five syllables to share their unique expressions.

Enjoy the responses that were submitted by 5 p.m. on April 5:

Scrubs on, then scrubs off. Put others before ourselves. Eat, sleep, and repeat.

- Jamie Jill Maness, Clinical Nurse, DOCR

Were on the frontline. Were knocked down but we rise up. We are all Duke Strong.

- Jamie Eddy, LPN, Durham Pediatrics

Holds up the i-Pad. Family says goodbye from screen. Prayers. Last breaths taken.

- Ashley Acken, Senior Clinical Administrative Chaplain, Duke University Hospital

Mask over mouth, nose, Goggles fog with every breath. Protected, maybe?

- Katie Sanford, Physical Therapist, Duke Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation

Masked heroes working. Saving lives every day. New day dawning soon.

- Dawn Jones Marshall, Medical Laboratory Scientist, Stem Cell Laboratory

Another long shift How do I avoid Covid? Scrubs in the washer

- Matt Mathias, Consulting Associate, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

A novel virus, Invades our world quite quickly, Healthcare heroes win.

- Nathan Wise, Financial Analyst, Duke Raleigh Hospital

we fight the good fight over and over again all are heroes here

- Robin L. A. Clinedinst, Ophthalmic Technician, Duke Eye Center of South Durham

Death among many Heart break beyond repairing Good-by left unsaid

- Laurie Edgerton, Patient Service Associate, Duke Urgent Care South

As I close my eyes I am free no mask for me I know they'll miss me

- Odette Benschikovski, Clinical Nurse, Duke University Hospital

Bless the health workers Who put their own lives at risk So that all can live

- Megan Bell, Financial Services Specialist, Duke Credit Union

The pandemic world Little things have become big We need hugs again.

- Margaret (Peggy) Eren, Nurse Practitioner, Division of Cellular Therapy and Hematologic Malignancy

Get your vaccine To keep everyone healthy and protect the sick.

- Emily Escano, Administrative Assistant, Center for Advanced Practice

Cautionary tale. Science is manifested. The death toll rises.

- Robyn Miller, Departmental Director for Human Resources, School of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery

Masks on for safety. Let's get rid of this virus. Show our smiles again!

- Candace Martindale, Nursing Program Coordinator, Duke Home Care & Hospice

Swab in my nostril. Place the swab in the test tube. Safe campus for all.

- Elizabeth Cross, Surveillance Testing

Missing open arms Grandchildren question distance Love in both our eyes

- Valery Nelson, Laboratory Manager Bachelder Lab, School of Medicine

Ebb the tide today. Wash hands. Wear mask. Wait six feet. Protect those you love.

- Patricia H. Davis, Clinical Services Nurse, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic

My mask is on now But I can still enjoy life You are all precious

- Sally Hessnice, Clinical Nurse, Duke North OR

Daily fogged glasses Free stuff for healthcare workers Vaccinated, yay!

- Chelsea Walsh, Clinical Nurse, Duke Children's Health Center

Me, alone - Try to feel normal. Failing because it is not.

- Leah M. Kerr, Technical Services Processing Archivist, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

A friend cuts my hair. Oops she says and starts to laugh. It will grow back soon.

- Blair Chesnut, Senior Analyst Programmer, Molecular Physiology

Diet and exercising... Why have thee forsaken me Cake, get in my mouth.

- Alpha Esser, Technical Trainer, Duke Clinical Research Institute

isolation under a cul-de-sac of stars

- Crystal Simone Smith, Humanities Unbounded Fellow, Duke University

Eyes convey all now With mask in place hiding lips Eyes above mask smile

- Melissa Reese, Lab Research Analyst, Stem Cell Laboratory

A new grandbaby Cannot meet; cannot hold yet Hopeful, so hopeful

- Lesley Stanford, Clinical Dietitian, Nutrition Services

My Heart has listened. To all the grief that is here. And transmutes to love.

- Sherry Short, Nurse Clinician, Center of Excellence

Last year is hindsight Feels like vision incomplete New year, please be clear!

- Danielle Wiggins, Assistant Director for PhD Programs, Nicholas School of the Environment

Glooming summertime A personal, small friend rolls Whilst watching COVID

- Adrianne N. Burton, Patient Service Associate, Duke Otolaryngology South Durham

Introverted me Now completely misses hugs And those who gave them

- Melissa Graham, Program Coordinator, Office of Curricular Affairs

A horrible dream. I wake up fearful at night. Believe and trust. Sleep.

- Valerie Riddick, Administrative Manager, Duke Health Development & Alumni Affairs

a knee on his neck okay til he cried mama now my mask is gone

- Alonzo Felder, IT Analyst, University Office of Information Technology

Big milestone events Lost in swirls of pandemic Not to be retrieved

- LeAnn Fulton, Clinical Research Associate, DCRI

You smile on the Zoom But I know you are weary Like the rest of us

- Marty Jarrell, Communications Director, Family Connects International

Zoom meetings the norm Duke has me working from home Love working at Duke

- Tara Parker, Staff Assistant, Duke Cancer Institute

Close my laptop lid... Get up from my office chair... Hi Honey, I'm home!"

- John H. Campbell, Information Security Analyst, Duke Health Technology Solutions

No commute today. I can read a book or sew. Makes me so happy.

- Lisa Powell, Financial Analyst II, Department of Ophthalmology

More time with my kid. Grateful for technology. The glass is half full.

- Allison Jardine, Administrative Assistant, DUHS Clinical Labs Human Resources

If I don't get out Of this work-from-home stupor I may scream real loud

- Kristin LoBiondo Pfeiffer, Communications Specialist, Student Affairs

Work with kids and zoom Can't wait for normal life to Resume very soon

- Saimia Baluch, Project Leader, DCRI

Grooming has gone bad But saving on lunch, gas, shirts Pandemic shut-in

- Karl Leif Bates, Director of Research Communications, Duke University

Reveling, home works Front porch, back porch, TV, books Pandemic be gone, Free me

- Valerie Fernandez, Manager, Coding Integrity Department

One dog in my lap. Another at my side, I like remote work best.

- Allison W. Spell, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Neurosurgery

COVID Communication Zoom safe space personal space When does it all in

- Pauline D. Stroud, Geriatric Resource Nurse, Duke Rehabilitation Institute

Kids are still at home. Driving me mad as a cow. Please help me. Bring wine.

- Cheryl Beth Munsell, Development Assistant, University Development

From my screen I watch A flower blooms, spring is here Four-thirty awaits

- Candice Sanford, DukeWELL Care Specialist, Duke Population Health Management Office

Zoom meetings aren't bad. Virtual backgrounds are fun... Wait... am I muted?

- Ryan Chung, IT Analyst, Enterprise and Devices Support

Day in and day out Together ALL of the time Cherish family

- Shellene Walker, Senior Project Manager, Office of Information Technology

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Capturing the Pandemic Experience in Haiku Poetry - Duke Today

‘Natural Killer Cells’ and Other Promising Cancer Treatments – Barron’s

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Last weekends online meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research gave a glimpse at the newest ideas for fighting cancer. Among the most exciting were treatments that engineer natural cells into cancer-targeting torpedoes.

Engineered-cell treatments from Affimed (ticker: AFMD), Fate Therapeutics (FATE), and Rubius Therapeutics (RUBY) drew attention from Wall Street analysts.

The German company Affimed reported exciting results in a four-patient test of its AFM13 antibodies in patients with the blood cancer lymphoma. When administered with a kind of immune cell known as a natural killer cell, Affimeds antibody binds the NK cells to a target found on many cancer cells.

Before treatment started at the end of last year, all four lymphoma patients had been very sick. One had even been consigned to hospice.

The cancer receded in all four patients after treatment, with complete responses in two of them. The patient who had been sent to hospice is now eligible for a bone-marrow transplant. Side effects werent a problem.

They had all failed multiple lines of treatmentup to 14 lines of therapy, said Katy Rezvani, a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who is leading the study, on a Thursday morning conference call. The fact that we are seeing responses as it is, I think, is just incredible.

Dose levels of the Affimed-primed killer cells were kept deliberately low in the first administrations of the treatment. Higher doses may show deeper response and greater persistence of the natural killer cells, notes BMO Capital Markets analyst Do Kim in a Thursday note. Affimed is testing other antibodies in Phase 1 studies that target solid tumors.

Excitement over the lymphoma study results lifted Affimed stock from about $7.70 to $10.70 since last week. In recent trading, the shares were down 9.3%, at $9.38, after the development-stage company reported a slightly higher-than-expected loss of 0.50 euros a share (about 60 cents) for the 2020 year. BMOs Kim rates Affimed at Outperform, with a $15 price target.

One promising feature of natural-killer-cell treatments is that the cells can be obtained from donors and stored on the shelf. Current treatments with other engineered immune cells must harvest a patients own cells, then modify and grow them for re-administration. Another pioneer in developing NK cell therapies is Fate Therapeutics, and the company provided several updates at the AACR meeting on its treatments.

Fates stock enjoyed a remarkable run in the past year, soaring from $19 to a January 2021 peak of $119, before settling back to a recent $84.87. That puts an $8 billion market cap on a company thats yet to report revenue. But Fate has 10 clinical trials in Phase 1 for its NK cell technology, which takes undifferentiated stem cells (stored on the shelf) and transforms them into NK cells targeting a variety of solid and blood tumors.

At AACR, Fate focused on its laboratory studies that show the flexibility of its NK cell technology. In planned meetings later this year, it will review its human trials against various cancers. The stocks gain has some analysts rating it Neutral. Among them is H.C. Wainwrights Robert Burns, who wrote in January about the excitement that followed Fates report that its treatment had reversed the cancer in a patient whose lymphoma had resisted seven other kinds of therapy.

Burns may have a Neutral rating on Fates stock, but he thinks it could rise to $108 as the company reports more clinical trial results this year. Thats a better than 25% upside.

One more engineered cell therapy discussed at AACR was the unusual approach of Rubius Therapeutics, which turns off-the-shelf red blood cells into therapies that stimulate an immune system attack on cancer. Researchers detailed results first reported in March, from a Phase 1 trial against several different cancers. The treatment reversed cancers in one patient with metastatic melanoma and another with metastatic anal cancer, while stabilizing the disease in six other patients.

Rubius will escalate doses in the Phase 1 study, while proceeding with other trials that target different kinds of cancer or combine its treatment with other cancer therapies. Guggenheims Michael Schmidt projects that Rubius could start to see revenue from its unique approach in 2024, and rates the stock a Buy. He argues that its stock, now trading at $23.86, is worth at least $30.

Write to Bill Alpert at william.alpert@barrons.com

Link:
'Natural Killer Cells' and Other Promising Cancer Treatments - Barron's

Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer: When It’s Used and What to Expect – Healthline

The American Cancer Society says that nearly 250,000 American men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021. And about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

Prostate cancers tend to grow slowly and have a fairly good outlook compared to many types of cancer. From 2010 to 2016, the 5-year survival rate in the United States was 97.8 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Chemotherapy is a drug therapy thats sometimes used to treat prostate cancer. Its most commonly used to treat aggressive tumors or advanced prostate cancer that hasnt responded well to other treatments.

In this article, we break down when your doctor may recommend chemotherapy for prostate cancer and what you can expect while taking chemotherapy drugs.

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that involves taking drugs that kill rapidly dividing cells. Chemicals in these drugs can kill cancer cells and healthy cells in your body that quickly divide such as bone marrow and hair cells.

According to the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy is not a standard treatment for early prostate cancer. Its most likely to be used for aggressive cancer or cancer that has started growing outside the prostate.

Most men receiving chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer will also receive androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or anti-hormone therapy.

Chemotherapy may also be used to treat castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). CRPC is a type of prostate cancer that stops responding to hormone therapy. Prostate cancer needs male sex hormones to grow, and hormone therapy aims to lower male sex hormones to slow tumor growth.

A 2018 research review showed that docetaxel (developed in 2004) is the first chemotherapy drug that improved the survival rate of men with prostate cancer. Today, its the most commonly used chemotherapy drug to treat prostate cancer.

Docetaxel falls into a group of drugs called taxanes. These drugs block cellular processes cancer cells need to divide.

Docetaxel is often combined with the steroid prednisone. A 2016 research review showed that prednisone may help:

If docetaxel treatment doesnt work best for your health needs, doctors often recommend trying cabazitaxel. Cabazitaxel falls into the same class of drugs as docetaxel.

The following treatments are newer treatment options that often work when hormone therapy doesnt work for you:

However, there are no studies available yet directly comparing these drugs, and its not clear which is most effective.

Enzalutamide and apalutamide are in a class of drugs called androgen receptor inhibitors. They block male sex hormones from binding to receptors on your prostate.

Abiraterone is in a class of drugs called androgen biosynthesis inhibitors. They work by blocking the production of testosterone.

Other chemotherapy drugs that may be used to treat prostate cancer include:

Chemotherapy drugs are typically administered intravenously (through an IV) by a doctor who specializes in cancer treatment. The medications can be administered at a:

Drugs are administered in cycles to help give your body time to recover. Cycles are often 2 to 3 weeks long, and each session takes roughly an hour, according to the American Cancer Society.

The schedule of your cycle depends on which drugs are being used. You may only be given chemotherapy drugs on the first day of your treatment or for several days in a row.

The total length of your treatment depends on how well the chemotherapy is working and your side effects.

Some types of chemotherapy drugs like enzalutamide can be given as oral pills.

Chemotherapy can cause your red and white blood cell counts to drop, so youll likely have a blood test before each of your sessions.

If you have a very low white blood cell count, your doctor may recommend lowering the dose or stopping treatment.

Chemicals in chemotherapy drugs kill cells that divide quickly, but they cant differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells in your body.

Many of chemotherapys side effects are due to drugs targeting healthy cells that divide rapidly such as cells in your:

Some common side effects of chemotherapy include:

Severity of symptoms can vary between people. Many of the side effects of chemotherapy go away shortly after treatment.

Docetaxel and cabazitaxel can cause neuropathy, or nerve dysfunction, that leads to the following feelings in your hands or feet:

A 2014 research review showed that about 10 percent of participants have grade 3 or 4 neuropathies, which are the highest classifications of nerve dysfunction. Your chances of developing neuropathy depend on your dose.

According to the American Cancer Society, the drug mitoxantrone can cause leukemia in rare cases, and estramustine increases your risk of developing blood clots.

Its important to discuss prostate cancer treatment options with your doctor. They can help you understand the pros and cons of chemotherapy and answer any specific questions you have about your treatment.

An oncologist, a doctor specializing in cancer, can help you develop strategies to lower your chances of developing side effects.

An oncologist can also put you in touch with support groups in your area. Many people find it helpful to talk with other people who have gone through the same treatment.

You can find online support groups or support groups in your area from these websites:

Chemotherapy is most commonly used to treat prostate cancer that has spread beyond the prostate. Chemicals in chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells and other cells in your body that rapidly divide such as cells in your hair follicles and digestive system.

Your doctor can help you determine if you may benefit from chemotherapy. You may also find it helpful to join a support group that connects you with other people who have undergone the same treatment in the past.

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Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer: When It's Used and What to Expect - Healthline