It was the final hour of my shift, and I was cleaning up for my colleague who would be taking over. Glancing at the clock, I decided I could see one of the “easy” fast-track patients just to help offload the board a bit. I figured he wasn&#…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
My breast cancer journey: Why mammograms matter
25 years ago, at the age of 42, I had my first mammogram, which was part of my routine checkup. I had no symptoms at the time. I was devastated when the radiologist discovered a shadow in my left breast. To confirm this, a biopsy was scheduled, and ind…
When a breast lump is as scary as Halloween
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…
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…
