“The data are remarkable and promising, though beyond the numbers is a bigger picture. Each data point represents a life – a mother, uncle, grandparent, loved one, friend. Technological advances in image guidance and therapeutic delivery are allo…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
The price of love is loss. But still we pay.
I just wanted to tell you that I had a wonderful patient as a consult today. She had a pretty bad prognosis and was a recently diagnosed hepatobiliary cancer patient. Pretty aggressive disease with wild metastasis. From her time of diagnosis to my cons…
Tumor-informed residual disease testing can help inform cancer treatment
Life can feel full of uncertainty when battling cancer, with few guarantees. “Is there still cancer in my body?” and “Will it come back?” are common questions that have long been difficult to answer confidently until recently. A…
With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power [PODCAST]
“I imagine I would have, as I’m sure so many others do, headed to the Internet, reading both accurate and inaccurate information. While much of my visit with my genetic counselor feels like a blur, I left that meeting with a list of answered ques…
How to convert medical knowledge into digital assets that work for you
Over 12 months, I rebuilt my practice workflow to solve the problem of inefficient knowledge transfer between me and my patients. Now with a new system incorporating a library of leveraged digital assets I’m saving time and improving patient expe…
Keeping a cancer diagnosis silent
It is a seasonally cold fall evening in Long Island, NY, and I am standing in a field in the middle of what should be a darkened park. Still, I am truly amazed by how bright it is lit up by lanterns with different colors demarcating patients, families,…
A physician and sister, but also an accomplice?
My older sister, Joy, will soon die from metastatic breast cancer. She will pass away at age 50. She will leave behind a husband of 21 years and the three children they nurtured to young adulthood. Our elderly parents will lament the unnatural timin…
To my patient who is going to lose her hair from chemotherapy
I understand that the biggest fear you have about going through chemotherapy is losing your hair. I just want to tell you. You will be fine. Trust me. I know it’s barbaric. Why don’t we have medicines to treat cancer that will not make you lose your ha…
Cancer provided an unexpected silver lining
When I first met her, I perceived she was nervous. I could sense the doctor skepticism. She simply had a negative aura about her. An Eeyore, if you will. A “no” person. A drag. To my absolute non-surprise, she declined all screenings that a…
Until next year, breast care center
I enter the breast care center, check in, and take a seat. Though there are few people in the room; there is a sense of dread and trepidation that hangs in the air. It feels almost like a sacred space as I am acutely aware of all the prayers, meditatio…
