Oncology: The Cancer Challenge-leading the way

The Sharett Institute of Oncology is a world leader in cancer research. Its staff is at the cutting edge of breast and ovarian cancer, melanoma, lung and pancreatic cancer and leukemia.

Because Ashkenazi Jews are ten times more likely to be carriers of BRCA breast cancer genes than the general population, Israel is an important research “laboratory.” The Hadassah Medical Organization was the first to implant BRCA-free embryos in a mother who carries the gene. Care and treatment are second to none at the extraordinary Marlene Greenebaum Comprehensive Breast Cancer Centre.

HMO researchers have discovered that a special compound called BKT140 shrank lung cell tumors by about 50 percent in cell samples and laboratory mice. When BKT140 was combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, cancer cell growth decreased by about 90 percent in the lab. These are first steps in what may one day lead to a treatment or cure for lung cancer.

Children suffering from Cancer are treated in the bright and cheerful Pediatric Oncology Unit in the Charlotte R. Blumberg Mother and Child Pavilion, which is specially modified to meet their special needs.  The children even attend an award winning special school while receiving their life-saving treatment.

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