How advancements in blood cancer research are saving lives

By Evan Dawson,

Published September 9, 2026 at 3:36 PM EDT

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman front left has shoulder-length dark hair and is wearing eyeglasses, a light grey blazer, red shirt, black pants and black shoes; a bald man front right is wearing a white polo shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers; a woman back left has short blonde hair and is wearing a black-and-white striped sweater over a black shirt; a woman back right has long dark hair and is wearing a black blouse; a balding man at center is wearing eyeglasses, a black button-down shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes. — (foreground) Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh and Ralph Olney, (background) Shannon Godlove and Carla Casulo with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Local clinicians say new research and treatments for blood cancers are helping people live longer, better lives. They say progress made in Rochester has helped people survive years — and even decades — after diagnosis.

We talk with the experts about that research, and we hear from survivors who share their experiences. Our panel also addresses how doctors and patients can best work together to make decisions.

In studio:

Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh, M.D., M.S., associate professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and director of geriatric hematology research at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Carla Casulo, M.D, professor of medicine, hematology, and oncology and the Robert B. Goergen Distinguished Professor in Cancer Care at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Shannon Godlove, blood cancer patient
Ralph Olney, grateful patient at Wilmot Cancer Institute, member of the advisory board for the Wilmot Cancer Institute, member of the Home Health Care board at UR Medicine, chair of the Wilmot Cancer Institute Discovery Ball, and coordinator of the Wilmot Warrior Weekend