Cancer Patients

Just eight years ago, human egg freezing was an unproven, hit-or-miss, costly technology being hyped as a way to defy biological clocks. It's still expensive, but now, it works. On Wednesday, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the professional organization of fertility specialists, declared that egg freezing should no longer be considered experimental because the rates of pregnancies - and healthy offspring - were comparable to using fresh eggs. That's a dramatic shift from 2004, when the society said egg freezing should be provided only as part of a research study, with strict oversight and at no charge, to patients with no other hope of having their own genetic children.

Richie Suarez and his family would say that all in all, they have a lot to be thankful for. In late August 2010, Richie was 18 and in the best shape of his life. He was two days away from moving from Voorhees to Rowan University, where he would study math or science and play his beloved baseball. Then he was thrown the worst curve imaginable: He was diagnosed with a pediatric form of leukemia. Nearly 14 months of intensive chemotherapy followed to beat the disease into remission.

For Sandra Mann, a philanthropist and former member of the board of directors at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, working to improve the lives of cancer patients was a longtime passion. Mrs. Mann, 61, who lived in Rittenhouse Square, died Wednesday, Sept. 5, of a stroke resulting from kidney cancer, at Pennsylvania Hospital, her relatives said. Her husband, Fredric R. Mann II, a Philadelphia lawyer and businessman, said his wife served on the board of directors of Fox Chase for 15 years.

WHEN IT comes to sports firsts, Ryan Mackiewicz' résumé already includes one impressive entry. Now he's about to shoot for another and, if he's successful, Cool Memory No. 1 will become a distant No. 2. Yes, Mackiewicz, now a 5-11, 188-pound senior, enjoyed himself immensely last May 2 when his RBI single capped a two-run home seventh and lifted Father Judge High to a stirring 5-4 win over Roman Catholic in Game No. 1 on the school's new...

NEW YORK - Call it compassionate, even political. But ... scientific? Several experts say there's no hard evidence to support the federal government's declaration this month that 50 kinds of cancer could be caused by exposure to World Trade Center dust. The decision could help hundreds of people get money from a multibillion-dollar World Trade Center health fund to repay those ailing after they breathed in toxic dust created by the collapsing twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001. But scientists say there is little research to prove that exposure to the toxic dust plume caused even one kind of cancer.

Maybe not enough administrators at Chestnut Hill College know what it's like to fight cancer. If they did, how could they deny a student named B. Elizabeth Furey? In July, Furey, 28, will finish the final three credits required for her master's degree in clinical and counseling psychology. She had hoped the school would allow her to hear her name called as she strode across the graduation stage on May 12, to the cheers of her family and friends. However, Chestnut Hill has a policy that no student may cross the stage until his or her courses are complete.

Oncologist Ubaldo Martinez doesn't have enough time to address all the special needs of the growing number of elderly cancer victims who seek his help, even though he spends 90 minutes with patients the first time and 30 during subsequent visits. It's all he can do to explain their disease and its treatments to them, but so many other things can affect how they'll do. How many drugs are they taking? Are they frail? Or robust enough to race their grandkids up a hill? Do they have dementia?

Beginning Sunday, The Inquirer and Philly.com will present 21 profiles over the next 21 days of participants in the Broad Street Run. The race, on May 6, is considered the country's most popular 10-mile run, attracting more than 40,000 people . They will race downhill from near Einstein Medical Center to the Navy Yard. Brian McShane felt his relationship with his father-in-law, Jim McDonald, was unlike any one else's. "A friendly basketball game would turn into an all-out do-or-die match," said Brian.

PSST, Taylor Swift, I know a boy who likes you. He loves your music and thinks you're really sweet. He thinks you're really cute, too. No wait, he actually said "beautiful. " His name's Kevin McGuire, and yesterday he poured his big, romantic heart out to me from his room on the third floor of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. That's the oncology unit. He's dealing with a relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He's very tired and a little homesick. But when I asked what he'd say to you if he saw you in person, he perked up a little and said he already had something prepared.

ST. LOUIS - For a lot of people, weathering the winter is no fun. Cold temperatures. Shorter days. More colds and flu. Weathering it all with cancer is worse. Before Jerry Miller was diagnosed with Stage 3B colon cancer last summer, he walked pretty much everywhere, year-round. And he loved it. "My car was stolen 12 years ago, and I never bothered to replace it," said Miller, 44, of St. Louis. Not anymore. In addition to fatigue and weakness, chemotherapy has wreaked havoc on his immune system and caused extreme cold sensitivity in his hands, feet and other parts of his body.