How can a tiny tumor, often no larger than a penny, affect an entire organism? This question is central to the work happening today at the 黑料吃瓜资源 Cancer Center. The simple answer is that cancer is a whole-body disease. But what does that mean for cancer patients and their loved ones? CSHL Associate Professor Tobias Janowitz addresses this issue in the latest installment of our Cocktails & Chromosomes series.
Janowitz leads an international team focused on a condition called cachexia that鈥檚 common among advanced cancer cases. Cachexia is a metabolic disorder whereby patients experience severe, involuntary muscle loss. The patients 鈥渒now that they should be eating, but they don鈥檛 feel like it,鈥� Janowitz explained to our audience at Industry in Huntington, NY. 鈥淵ou may have been in that situation and offered [a] favorite meal to friends or family, and they have no interest in it. This creates a lot of distress and suffering on all sides.鈥� Now, thanks in part to scientists like Janowitz, we鈥檙e beginning to figure out how this condition affects both the brain and the body.
Press play to hear about Janowitz鈥檚 groundbreaking research. And be sure to sign up for the next edition of Cocktails & Chromosomes, as our conversation on the connections between mind and body continues on August 29 with a talk from CSHL Assistant Professor Jeremy Borniger.