To provide the information your oncologist is not telling you or doesn't have the time to!
Oncologists face many ethical challenges in their practice, including balancing honesty and optimism, aggressive and careful treatment, appropriate treatment for the elderly, and when to refer patients to hospice. Telling patients the truth about their diagnosis and more importantly the prognosis while also providing hope can be difficult, as can balancing the intensity of treatment …
A tumor board is a meeting where a team of healthcare professionals and ancillary providers, including medical, radiation oncologists, radiologists, surgeons, interventionalist, and pathologists, come together to discuss the treatment plan for a patient with cancer. Nurses, extenders, navigators, pharmacists, palliative care, research, hospitalist, students, residents, fellows, nutritionists, and many other folks can participate depending …
Previously I discussed the advantages of participating in a clinical trial however it is also important to educate the public on all aspects of clinical trials, including both the potential drawbacks. Here are seven key bullet points on the disadvantages of participating in a clinical trial: Time commitment Clinical trials often require a significant amount of time …
As an oncologist, I have seen the importance of using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis in cancer diagnosis and treatment. ctDNA is a simple blood test that can provide valuable information about a patient’s cancer, making it a valuable tool in the fight against this disease. Signatera is a technology developed by Natera that uses tumor-informed …
Cancer can be a scary thing, but did you know that there is a way for you to take part in the fight against cancer? It’s called participating in a clinical trial. Clinical trials are research studies that test new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases. If you or a loved one has cancer, …
Imagine if your body had superpowers to fight cancer! Well, that’s exactly what a new treatment called Intratumoral therapy does. By giving your body the tools it needs to attack cancer cells, this treatment is changing the game for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Some of the treatments are directly killing cancer cells itself …
As a physician, it is important to communicate complex medical concepts in a way that is easy to understand for patients. When patients are diagnosed and are undergoing treatment a common question I get is “how do we know the treatment is working”? My crystal ball does not work very well, and I tell my …
Metastatic gastric cancer, also known as stage IV gastric cancer, is a serious and advanced form of the disease in which the cancer has spread beyond the stomach to other parts of the body. The current standard of care for patients with metastatic gastric cancer includes chemotherapy, Her2 targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However, there remains …
KRAS is a gene that plays a key role in the growth and division of cells. Mutations in the KRAS gene can cause cancer, and one particular mutation called KRAS G12C occurs in about 1-2% of pancreatic cancers and 2-4% of colon cancers. These mutations make the cancer resistant to certain treatment options and are …
As a physician, the most important things I can do for all my patients is to provide them with the best possible care. For most of my patients, I am the captain of the ship and I have a whole team of specialized physicians (surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist, interventional radiologist, pathologist, gastroenterologist, nuclear med etc), …