October is an important month for many, but I’m not actually talking about Halloween. However, for many, it can be a reminder of something very scary that happened in their lifetime. For me, it isn’t October, a month dedicated to breast can…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
Don’t put off medical care: X-ray for minor knee pain finds tumor
My fiancée had been complaining on and off about minor knee pain and swelling for months. She kept putting off doing anything about it, because she’s a former college basketball player who had already had two surgeries on that knee, and she assum…
Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Banu Symington, a hematology-oncology physician, as she shares her expertise and insights on the topic of out-of-office infusions, discussing patient safety, experience, and the potent…
PSA screening: What you need to know [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Stephen Lieberman, a urologist, as we navigate the nuances of prostate care, discussing the evolution of PSA screening, the controversies it has sparked, and the crucial insights that …
Transformative lessons from a pandemic experience [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Lee Scheinbart, a medical oncologist, as he shares his transformative experience during the height of the COVID pandemic. Discover the power of intrinsic motivation, advocacy, and empa…
A chance encounter in Chicago: lessons in compassionate medicine
It was a frigid January night in Chicago. My whole body felt cold as flurries of snow landed on my clothes, prompting me to quickly enter the restaurant to find my friend. The dinner began to unfold how I had imagined. My friend, a fellow medical stude…
Support your local plasmapheresis center
Every day, thousands of people lie on a couch and have their arm stabbed with a large needle. Blood from the venipuncture snakes down into a container. In some individuals, this continues until the volume is about a pint – 500 mL; for this, they get a …
Diversified treatments are needed to fight the increasing threat of liver cancer
Since the mid-1970s, rates for liver cancer have been on the rise. A 2017 study found that liver cancer increased by 75 percent worldwide between 1990 and 2015, with the highest rate increases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Worldwi…
The story a cancer survivor and his bond with Lucky the Duck
There is no news that one can hear about oneself that is more dreadful than being told that you have cancer. The mind shuts down for a few minutes. No matter what the doctor is saying, the words do not register. It is like in the movies. The only diffe…
A physician’s letter: Safeguarding patient well-being by opposing off-site infusions
I am writing to vehemently argue against out-of-office infusions for my patients. There are many general reasons for this, which I will enumerate. There are also often patient-specific reasons, such as frailty, chronic noncompliance with recommendation…
