In men with prostate cancer who have had the prostate surgically removed, about a third of the time the cancer doesn’t completely go away or it comes back. In those patients, radiation therapy appears to improve long-term freedom from recurrence, but now comes strong evidence that treatment with antiandrogen drugs, or male hormone blockers—in addition to radiation—improves the rate of survival significantly, and greatly reduces the likelihood that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body.

These findings were published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Kenneth Zeitzer, MD, (right) of Einstein’s Department of Radiation Oncology, was a co-author of the study.

The study followed 760 men over 12 years who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had their prostate removed, only to have the disease persist, as shown by increasing blood levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. PSA is a standard test for prostate cancer.

Back in early December 2016, a team of students from the University of Delaware visited MossRehab to test out a portable wheelchair racer trainer. The lightweight trainer is designed to be portable, and is ultimately destined to provide a training aid for Ghana's first paralympic wheelchair racing club, the Go Get Dem team.

Rachel Loeper, Mighty Writers education director (above), accepts donations of books and writing materials 

For Einstein Healthcare Network, Martin Luther King Day is a day to remember the life of the late civil rights leader, but it also presents an opportunity to celebrate the Einstein employees whose acts of kindness and charity best exemplify the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Take, for example, the four employees who earned the 2017 Keeper of the Dream Awards, presented at Einstein’s annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Tribute.

Hugh Jenkins and Larisha Barnes-Taylor

Spend $25 for a Pollyanna gift to exchange with a co-worker, or use the money to better the lives of people who could really use it?

For a group of employees in Einstein’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine over the holidays, there was no question about it—not when there are so many needy people in the world.

“We wanted to make a donation instead of a Pollyanna,” says histology technologist Larisha (Re) Barnes-Taylor. “We wanted to find an organization we could donate to.” The organization they chose was Cradles to Crayons, which collects new and gently used children’s items—everything from toys to clothing to diapers—to help families in need. Barnes-Taylor had seen Cradles to Crayons profiled locally on 6ABC’s Action News.

Sarasota fishing pier

For many, the winter holidays can mean anything from putting up the Christmas tree to, depending on the calendar, lighting the Hanukkah menorah. It can also be a time to take advantage of days off from school and vacations to host family reunions.

For Einstein Healthcare Network infectious disease specialist Jerry Zuckerman, MD, it also means a family reunion in Sarasota, Fla., combined with another custom that is quite different from all the rest. Together with his brothers-in-law (Kenneth and Keith Kaye), Kenneth’s wife (Elaine Kaye), and one other physician—all infectious disease experts—he instructs a continuing medical education course in infectious diseases for primary care physicians. American Medical Seminars, Inc., sponsors the course.

As the Philadelphia Eagles head into the last game of the season, the question arises: What's the best way for players to recover in the off-season? According to Einstein sports medicine expert Rosemarie Boehm, MD, the answer is: It depends on the player's condition.

For players who aren't plagued by nagging injuries, the best approach in the near term is rest. For players with injuries, expect a period of rehab. Later on in the off-season, players will return to a training regimen of stretching and strength training.

The staff of the Liver Unit at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia get ready to spread holiday warmth by delivering Adopt-a-Patient blankets and socks. Pictured here are (left to right): Nuha Shishani, Outreach Coordinator, Department of Transplantation; June Smith, RN, Nurse Manager, Liver Unit; Saramma Koshy, RN; Jayleem Dawson, HUC; Catherine Mathews, RNC, Sherri Ajedho, PCA. (Photo by Wes Hilton)

When you’re hospitalized over the holidays, one thoughtful gesture can mean a lot.

For the seventh year in a row, hundreds of Einstein Healthcare Network patients were on the receiving end of one such act of kindness, courtesy of Einstein employees and other donors.

Adopt-a-Patient, managed by Einstein’s Office of Development, offers a way for employees who aren’t involved in day-to-day clinical care to make a big difference in the lives of patients.

Any time of year, coping with a loved one in the hospital can be challenging. Your loved one is in pain, so you are, too. You feel guilty that you can’t spend 24/7 with him or her, and you worry when you are not there to help. If you have others, like children, who rely on you, you’re split two ways. You’re physically and emotionally exhausted.

Now throw the holidays into the mix. All your comforting rituals and routines are disrupted. How will you pull the big holiday dinner together? When will you find time to buy gifts? Who’s writing and sending out the Christmas cards? Will there be time to make latkes with the kids for Hanukkah? How can you hope to meet all the usual holiday expectations?

Members of Lower Merion High School’s DAWGMA robotics team design, program and build robotics to compete in elaborate games, the goal of which is to inspire creativity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). But where might that interest in technology lead?

One place is the field of rehabilitation technology. To that end, members of the team visited MossRehab this week to see how some of that technology works, learning from some of the best in the business—and also to gain insights into “disability etiquette.” The latter is particularly useful, as the team works at Judith Creed Homes for Adult Independence, Inc. (JCHAI), a community group consisting of adult persons with disabilities.

Bob Bellini, PE, is DAWGMA’s chief mentor and a computer systems architect at Lockheed Martin. Bellini accompanied the group on the MossRehab tour.

Mark Ayzenberg, MD (Photo by Wes Hilton)

A glittering sunset over Boathouse Row, so bright that you might be tempted to shade your eyes. Center City Philadelphia, enwreathed in darkening clouds.

These outsized images, printed on thin sheets of metal, seem three-dimensional, many as if they’d been painted, but they’re all photographs—and they all started out in the mind’s eye of Einstein Healthcare Network orthopedic surgery resident Mark Ayzenberg, MD. 

In a way, you could also say that they came about by accident.