Penn Medicine

10/30/2025

After her aunt revealed a secret breast cancer diagnosis, Brooklyn Olumba's decision to get genetic testing may have saved her life. Olumba learned she had a BRCA2 gene mutation, which raised her risk for breast cancer.

On the advice of her care team at Penn Medicine's Basser Center for BRCA, she began getting annual breast cancer screenings in her early 20s, which ultimately led to a stage I breast cancer diagnosis at age 28.

"I want people to know that it's really important to know your risk. And knowing your risk means talking to your family," she says.

She recently shared her story with Essence for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Read it here: http://spr.ly/618671sMn

10/28/2025

He's got four paws and a full-time job! Meet Thaddeus, the new facility dog at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, trained to bring calm, comfort, and care to patients and staff every day.🐾

Special thank you to HOPE in the AIR and The Casey Feldman Foundation for making Thaddeus' role possible.

10/23/2025

For many breast cancer survivors, including Illeana Casiano-Vazquez, the possibility of the cancer returning brings fear and uncertainty.

A new clinical trial has shown promise in preventing recurrence and easing these anxieties. Led by Dr. Angela DeMichele and Dr. Lewis Chodosh, the trial has shown it's possible to identify survivors who are at increased risk of recurrence due to the presence of dormant cells, and to treat those cells with repurposed, existing drugs.

“The next steps are to take this to larger trials... and then to really see if this could also apply to other cancers,” DeMichele told the CBS Evening News.

10/22/2025

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania students who lead the Homeless Outreach Project (HOP) are forging connections with those experiencing homelessness and shining a light on the transformative power of street medicine.

The group’s goal is “to try to make relationships with neighbors who are unhoused right now, and ensure that they’re doing well, in whatever that means for them,” says Setareh Gooshvar, a third-year student.

Street medicine is a developing specialty; Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health’s street medicine team began seeing patients in 2022.

“It feels very fundamental to medicine—which is about caring for others, meeting people where they are, and recognizing them as human beings,” says Connie Yu, a third-year student. “Hopefully one day, that can be the status quo.”

10/21/2025

Yesterday, we officially broke ground on the Penn Medicine Princeton Health Cancer Center, opening in 2028. Health system leaders and regional representatives gathered to celebrate the transformative $401 million project, which will deliver a full spectrum of cancer services to patients in Central New Jersey.

"A cancer diagnosis disrupts routines and introduces a level of uncertainty that touches everything in a patient’s life,” said CEO Kevin Mahoney. “Across Penn Medicine, we continually work to ease that burden by improving access, convenience, and support throughout every step of treatment."

10/17/2025

The sudden closure of Crozer Health left young doctors scrambling to navigate their future. The director of their program and leaders at Penn Medicine spent late nights and weekends working to move the program to Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital. “It made us adaptable and definitely closer as a program,” said second-year family medicine resident Gaby Borodyansky, DO.

Their journey from uncertainty to a brand-new family medicine program at CCH is a story of resilience and grit. Read it here: http://spr.ly/6184AFtUI

10/16/2025

"Time toxicity" is a huge problem in cancer care. Patients often spend much of their time commuting to, waiting for, or receiving acute care traditionally delivered in a hospital. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Spearheaded by Dr. Ronac Mamtani, Penn Medicine teams are pursuing technologies and processes that make care easier and give patients more of their own time back during treatment.

Get the details: http://spr.ly/6189AFskX

10/15/2025

10/14/2025

Within minutes of her arrival, doctors at Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital (CCH) diagnosed Molly Fadden with a pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening blood clot in the lungs. She needed an embolectomy, an advanced procedure not performed at CCH. That's when the Penn Medicine Transfer team jumped in, dispatching a PENNSTAR helicopter to fly Molly to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

“Knowing there was a really good hospital I had access to in my time of need was important,” she said.

10/10/2025

It was Dacia Jones-Smith’s birthday when she went into labor at 22-weeks. Her daughter, Auri, stayed in the intensive care nursery at Pennsylvania Hospital for six months, where Vildan Lench was her primary nurse. “She treated Auri like her own child," said Jones-Smith. "And on days I would cry, she was there to give me a hug and encouraging words.”

Last weekend, Lench had the opportunity to meet up with Auri and her parents at the ICN reunion, along with other staff, ICN graduates and families. “They get to see how much Auri has grown, thanks to them,” said Jones-Smith.

10/09/2025

10/08/2025

University of Pennsylvania physics professor Arthur Goodspeed created what’s believed to be the first X-ray image—by accident—in 1890. Now, thanks to a donation from his descendants, Penn has two glass plates from his early experiments, which quickly led to Penn Medicine’s first Radiology division.

“Singular objects that are evidence of a scientific discovery are really rare,” said University Archivist John Bence. “To have these is really exciting.”