Friends of Dana-Farber

Friends of Dana-Farber The Friends, an all-volunteer organization, takes pride in serving Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through supporting research, patient services, and fundraising.

🔙 This week, we’re traveling back to 1996!Nearly 30 years ago, the Friends dedicated the Dana-Farber Multifaith Chapel i...
07/18/2025

🔙 This week, we’re traveling back to 1996!

Nearly 30 years ago, the Friends dedicated the Dana-Farber Multifaith Chapel in memory of Jeffrey Forbes. Jeffrey was a driving force behind the Friends’ efforts to create a welcoming space for meditation and prayer.

Founding Friend, Jean Canellos, recalled that Jeffrey “did not want a purely religious space, but rather a quiet place of comfort and contemplation where someone could go during challenging times.”

🌈 The breathtaking stained glass (pictured below) was created by Emil Frei & Associates, Inc, a family-run liturgical design studio with a meaningful Dana-Farber connection. Emil Frei & Associates was started by the family of the late Dana-Farber Physician-in-Chief, Emil Frei III, MD. Dr. Frei’s brother, Robert, and his two sons designed the panels to be intentionally abstract, offering a spiritual sense of peace without religious symbolism.

📍Located on the 2nd floor of the Yawkey Building, the Dana-Farber Multifaith Chapel welcomes all patients, families, and staff.

With gratitude, the Friends continue to support this sacred space and the many healing programs in the Center for Spiritual Care.

Join us on September 18, 2025 at Pine Brook Country Club for an afternoon of lunch, luxe handbags, and inspiring stories...
07/16/2025

Join us on September 18, 2025 at Pine Brook Country Club for an afternoon of lunch, luxe handbags, and inspiring stories — all in support of research and patient care at Dana-Farber 💙👜✨

🎤 Featuring special guest speakers: Dr. Sara Char & Dr. Adrienne Waks
👛 Silent Auction with vintage & designer handbags and accessories
🍽️ Lunch with friends — all for a great cause

Gather your table and get ready to bag something beautiful! There are very limited seats still remaining, please visit the link in our bio to purchase tickets now if you want to join us!

Artist Spotlight: For some, the lazy days of summer harken memories of family road trips and classic car shows, and the ...
07/14/2025

Artist Spotlight:
For some, the lazy days of summer harken memories of family road trips and classic car shows, and the late Dr. Arthur T. Skarin, a beloved physician-scientist, educator and mentor was no exception. His photographs of hot rods, vintage and classic car details grace the walls of Dana-Farber - Chestnut Hill and honor this gentle man in a very special way.
 
Our thanks to Tom Carlson & Mike McKay, McGee Toyota of Epping, NH for their help identifying the grilles and hood ornaments. For additional information, contact Elaine Tinetti, Art Program Administrator at elaine_tinetti@dfci.harvard.edu

This week, we’re shining a light on our incredible Friends’ Fellows! ✨Since 1976, the Friends have proudly supported 54 ...
07/11/2025

This week, we’re shining a light on our incredible Friends’ Fellows! ✨

Since 1976, the Friends have proudly supported 54 rising stars at Dana-Farber by funding their salary and research.

Our very first Fellow, Dr. John Kirkwood, was named in 1976. Just two years later, Dr. Donald Kufe (pictured) received the fellowship. Reflecting on it, he said: “The Friends’ support of my DFCI fellowship in 1978 has had a transformative impact on my career.”

Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to support our 2025–26 Fellow, Dr. Tess O’Meara. Dr. O’Meara is third-year fellow leading groundbreaking translational research in breast cancer. 💙

🔬 See the full list of Friends’ Fellows since 1976: https://t.ly/Y4RUt

Patricia Burson was born in Montclair, NJ in 1949, earned a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and continued her postgr...
07/10/2025

Patricia Burson was born in Montclair, NJ in 1949, earned a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and continued her postgraduate studies at CMU, the Massachusetts College of Art and School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
 
Burson started her career in Pittsburgh, PA as a sculptural weaver. Her monumental “Tee- Ta- Dee” was featured front and center in the Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute. She later returned to landscape where the subject of her work remains today. She maintains a studio in Salem MA, at the junction of Gallows Hill and Blubber Hollow. In love with outdoors, her practice is observation-based, painting in plein air and the studio.
The works are celebrations. “By meditating on the overlooked, focusing on the quotidian scenes of a wooded hillside, the effects of sunlight and moonlight on moving water, capturing the exuberance of forsythia exploding in the fog in early spring, by examining and reexamining these simple scenes, I am constantly intrigued and delighted, discovering color, texture, viscosity of paint, reveling in the nature of light, novel textures inspired by the rain, fog, blizzard, parching sun, dawn and setting sun.”
 
The artist coined this commission in honor of Dana-Farber and forsythia, one of our earliest blooming shrubs that heralds the arrival of spring and symbolizes the hope and renewal of the season.

💡 Did you know? Every dollar raised by the Friends goes directly to funding innovative research and patient care program...
07/04/2025

💡 Did you know? Every dollar raised by the Friends goes directly to funding innovative research and patient care programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. All funding is awarded through a competitive grant process – proudly supporting early-stage research, young investigators, and vital care initiatives that often lack traditional funding.

🗓️ DFCI researchers & staff: Grant applications are open now and due July 18! Interested in applying? Email us at friends@dfci.harvard.edu for details.

Swipe right for some powerful moments from past grant-funded projects! ⬅️

Picture 1: Megan DelSesto of the Adult Clinical Social Work team speaking at a Funders Forum (left); Lisa Seidel speaking at a Funders Forum about their scalp cooling patient assistance project (right); Friends Co-President Carrie Wilson, Drs. Oreofe Odejide and Matthew Davids & Friends Co-President Helen Lin (center)

Picture 2: Drs. Narjust Florez, Kimmie Eng, and Megan Tesch speaking at our In the Bag event in 2024. We have funded several research projects led by Dr. Kimmie Eng.

Picture 3: Weighted blankets are available to infusion patients, thanks to nurse Cheri Hermann’s (BSN, RN, OCN) 2020 project aimed at easing anxiety during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today we’re celebrating our dedication to advancing medical research—through two powerful photos taken 39 years apart!📸 ...
06/27/2025

Today we’re celebrating our dedication to advancing medical research—through two powerful photos taken 39 years apart!

📸 The first image, from 1978, shows the Friends proudly donating a Beckman 4000 Gamma Counter to Drs. Glenn Steele Jr. and Richard E. Wilson of Surgical Oncology—technology that helped surgeons identify lymph nodes affected by tumors.

📸 Fast forward to 2017: the Friends gifted a state-of-the-art tumor dissociator to Dr. Jennifer Guerriero, continuing our legacy of supporting innovation in cancer care.

What makes these moments even more special? Two of our founding Board members, Jean Canellos and Marilyn Wolman, appear in both photos—a true testament to lasting impact. Sheila Cunningham and her daughter Jen Cunningham Butler are captured decades apart. 💙

The Friends of Dana-Farber were founded in 1976 with a clear and compassionate mission: to raise funds for research and ...
06/27/2025

The Friends of Dana-Farber were founded in 1976 with a clear and compassionate mission: to raise funds for research and patient care at the Institute and to help ensure a welcoming healing environment for patients and families.

Nearly 50 years later, our commitment has never wavered.

Today, we kick off 50 Years in 50 Weeks - a special countdown to our milestone birthday on June 6, 2026! Each week, we’ll share stories, photos, and memories that highlight our journey and the incredible people who’ve made it possible. 🎉

Artist Spotlight! Dr. Bellon, a gifted wildlife photographer and generous donor to the Friends Art Program, is the Direc...
06/26/2025

Artist Spotlight!

Dr. Bellon, a gifted wildlife photographer and generous donor to the Friends Art Program, is the Director, Breast Radiation Oncology, Institute Physician and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School. Her research centers on the treatment of breast cancer, with a focus on the optimal integration of systemic therapy and surgery with radiation.

Her photography journeys have taken her across the globe and the results are always memorable.
Grizzly Bear Cubs can be viewed at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center – Foxborough. For additional information, contact Elaine Tinetti, Art Program Administrator.

Delivering positivity, one crane at a time. Our latest patient gift bags included origami cranes folded by Emerson Colle...
06/25/2025

Delivering positivity, one crane at a time. Our latest patient gift bags included origami cranes folded by Emerson College students as part of their 1000 Crane Project! The 1000 Crane Project is a Japanese tradition symbolizing healing, hope, and good fortune. We are so grateful for this beautiful gesture of compassion and solidarity with our cancer patients.

Another set of cards for our Dana-Farber patients! Thank you Arbella Insurance Group for the amazing cards! The support ...
05/15/2025

Another set of cards for our Dana-Farber patients! Thank you Arbella Insurance Group for the amazing cards! The support of our incredible card donors means so much to the Friends and the patients we serve! We can’t wait to distribute them for patients to enjoy!

Libby EllisRosa Chenensis #3894, 2022Archival pigment print | Edition 1 of 542 x 42”Gift of Friends of Dana-Farber Canc...
04/23/2025

Libby Ellis
Rosa Chenensis #3894, 2022
Archival pigment print | Edition 1 of 5
42 x 42”
Gift of Friends of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The Blum Center for Patients and Families- YC1
 
Artist Statement
“My art is grounded in an understanding that human beings are divine parts of Nature. We live, like
flowers, moment to moment. The only separation is what we build or imagine. I create contemplative photographic portraits of flora. Understanding portraiture is about the relationship between sitter and maker; I meet flowers where they live — growing in the earth. I feel that communing in season and place deepens the intimacy of their portraits.
 
“Like early photographers, I rely on sunlight and work in black-and-white, inviting flower forms to reveal
themselves without the demand of color. Subtle tonalities slow the gaze, calm mind and body, and open space for the sublime and healing. I refrain from editing images and welcome shifts in image temperature. In this way, photographs and flora remind me of their essential and ever-changing relationship with light.”
 
A series of Ellis’s work was commissioned for the permanent collection of Harvard Divinity School.
 
Honors
Silver-Gilt and Silver medals for botanical photography from the UK Royal Horticultural Society
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation EF Grant
Julia Margaret Cameron Women in Photography Honor
Mass Cultural Council Grant for Fine Art Photography
 
For additional information, contact Elaine Tinetti, Art Program Administrator. Elaine_Tinetti@dfci.harvard.edu

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