Being a first-generation college student is hard. Being a first-generation college student and being pre-med is even harder. And since education and income are closely linked in the U.S., it’s no surprise that many first-generation college studen…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
Alternative cancer therapies and the promise of false hope
How do you respond when patients with a good prognosis want to delay chemotherapy to try an anticancer diet for a few months or visit an unregulated clinic for unproven therapies? I’m asking because of an alarming finding of ASCO’s 2018 National Cancer…
A fatal diagnosis doesn’t mean life is finished
An excerpt from What Does It Feel Like to Die?: Inspiring New Insights into the Experience of Dying. People who are diagnosed with a fatal disease sometimes do more than cope. They grow. They repair or strengthen relationships. They find a deeper spiri…
A hidden cancer success story: declining deaths from melanoma
Here is some news about cancer that isn’t widely known and is hiding in plain sight: Deaths from melanoma — a skin cancer that has lethal potential — have declined dramatically over the past several years. And while that fact alone is surpr…
When colon cancer is diagnosed, it’s also a difficult day for the gastroenterologist
Exercising good judgment can mean the difference between life or death. Life can be unforgiving of the choices we make. As we all know, many life events are beyond our control and understanding. But, there is much we can do to shape our paths to a brig…
How can data analytics to improve the care and outcomes of cancer patients?
I want to share some thoughts about artificial intelligence, or as I prefer to call it “data analytics.” Fundamentally: How can we capture the capability of analytics to improve the care and outcomes of cancer patients? And more importantly: How can we…
After cancer treatment: It’s time to reconsider the ringing of the bell
It’s become a common practice in oncology institutions across North America: A patient completes their prescribed course of treatment and they ring a bell. Usually, it’s a large bell, like one that used to be rung in schools signaling the end of …
Cancer care costs everyone too much. What can we do about it?
Today’s fee-for-service oncology business model misaligns incentives by rewarding practices for keeping margins and service volumes high — even when it’s wasteful — rather than for optimizing patient outcomes. While discussions of drug pric…
What should a cure for cancer look like?
Words have meaning. And when it comes to cancer, especially advanced cancer, there aren’t many words that have more meaning than the word “cure.” It is that very word and concept that is top of mind for some of us these days. We clinicians are guilty a…
When medical science becomes fake news
Every week there is another health pronouncement saying what is now good for you and what is going to kill you. Unfortunately, the “what” is often interchangeable — what was supposed to kill you last week is now suddenly good for you or vice vers…
