Category: Oncology/Hematology

How gender and race deepen the cancer care divide

In 2023, roughly 2 million people will have been diagnosed with some form of cancer, and while cancer can affect everyone, it does not affect everyone equally. Women – especially women of color and women with lower socioeconomic standing – often face s…

Why new cancer treatments cannot save us

In 2020, the ICPerMed (International Consortium for Personalized Medicine) published a ten-year vision for how personalized medicine, a new form of medicine, has the potential to rebuild an equitable and accessible health care system by 2030. Precision…

From devastation to inspiration: my journey through three cancers

A solid mass silently grew on my kidney. An unwelcome addition. Asymptomatic. Discovered haphazardly during a CT scan of my lungs … And it revealed itself. At first, I was devastated. Will cancer ever leave me alone? It has already visited me twi…

Collaboration between local oncologists and academia is crucial to closing the cancer care gap

There is undeniable hope and optimism when looking at the future of cancer care. Cancer survival rates are steadily rising as oncologists continue to learn more about the 100+ unique types of cancer—and emerging variants—that exist. Thanks to new targe…

Hidden truths and medical intrigue [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Jennifer Lycette, a novelist and rural hematology-oncology physician. We discuss Jennifer’s latest work, The Committee Will Kill You Now, a novel that explores the dark side of t…

From fear to empowerment: Beating breast lump anxiety [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Tami Burdick, a patient advocate and the author of Diagnosis Detective: Curing Granulomatous Mastitis. Tami shares her personal journey with granulomatous mastitis (GM) and how she nav…

From advocacy to early cancer detection

I write widely as a patient advocate and subject matter expert on public policy for the regulation of prescription opioid analgesics in pain medicine. Like many people younger than myself, I also visit many social media platforms almost daily. I am act…

An eye surgeon’s unexpected finding: a brain tumor diagnosis

In medicine, the sickest patients always seem to come on Friday afternoons. At the end of the week, I’m hoping to move quickly through my last few patients – a small corneal abrasion, a routine follow-up, or a stable glaucoma exam. I’m prep…

From ICU to kidney mass: a nurse’s journey of fear

After 32 years working as an ICU nurse, I believed I had developed a strong capacity to confront death alongside my patients. I had become accustomed to the challenging scenarios: co-morbidities, multi-system organ failure, emergency intubations, venti…

Navigating physician shortages in rural communities

In the rural area where I practice, two general surgeons recently retired, a medical oncologist moved out of the community, and two urologists left over a year ago. My patients with cancer are left wondering who will care for them. And this small commu…