Category: Oncology/Hematology

After all the years of medical training, I learned how to treat ugly on my own

We first met about two years ago when she came to see me in my clinic as a new patient. I glanced through her chart and reviewed her scans and pathology reports. She had one of the worst possible kinds of lung cancers, called small cell lung cancer, th…

What I learned from stepping away from medicine for a year

Before COVID-19, I left the practice of medicine for what would turn out to become an entire year. While away, I found a new way of seeing our hearts and bodies as humans in the medical profession, allowing me to return. Here are five lessons I learned…

Going to the molecular level to think big about cancer

In the next few years, the biggest advancements in cancer care may occur at the smallest level, the level of individual molecules. By imaging individual molecules on cancer cells, malignancies can be detected when they are smaller and more easily treat…

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Chadwick Boseman: a tale of two cancers in America [PODCAST]

“Separated by less than a month (Boseman on August 28th and Ginsburg on September 18th) and both due to gastrointestinal cancers (Boseman had colon cancer and Ginsburg had pancreatic cancer), the situations of Ginsburg’s and Boseman’s deaths is e…

I have strong reservations regarding medication advertising to the public

Recently, there have been several TV advertisements on cancer treatments that may extend life. They report survival data that can mislead cancer victims to the extent of possible longevity. Additionally, they present a false picture of how life can be …

How a physician breaks bad news is just as important as the bad news itself

Medicine is an art. One can learn about symptoms, diagnostics, and treatment plans for various diseases, from textbooks and journal articles. It is harder to study empathy, compassion, and human connection from conventional academic resources. The art …

Changes to radiation oncology offer hope when there was none

Radiation oncology has been around for a century, and, at first, advancements in the field came rapidly. The evolution of X-rays and CT scans to inform treatment. Intraoperative radiation therapy. Technology that allows for tailored dose distribution. …

Prostate cancer treatment: strategies for managing side effects

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the U.S., with one in eight men at risk of being diagnosed with this cancer during his lifetime. If you or a man you care about is undergoing prostate cancer treatment, yo…

The adaptive unconscious, the physician, and AI

Being an internist, the day is filled with problem-solving.  The problems are often not straightforward and require thinking, rethinking, reevaluating, and reading up and researching before the problem can be solved.  However, when a sixth sense, an in…

The adaptive unconscious, the physician, and AI

Being an internist, the day is filled with problem-solving.  The problems are often not straightforward and require thinking, rethinking, reevaluating, and reading up and researching before the problem can be solved.  However, when a sixth sense, an in…