I want to share how the era of immunotherapy, specifically immune-checkpoint-inhibitors, has changed the landscape of community oncology practice in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, for oncologists and, more importantly, patients. I want to tell …
Part 3 of a series. Patients with advanced cancer are particularly vulnerable to infection due to a compromised immune system. Moreover, the typical symptoms of serious infection, such as fever and chills, may be absent in cancer patients. If not ident…
Good news is always welcome, especially when talking about something as serious as cancer. And there is plenty of welcome information in the American Cancer Society’s release of our annual report on “Cancer Statistics, 2019” and its accompa…
Over 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed every year. Of the new cases, over 62,000 are men, and over 18,000 are women. Whites have higher incidence rates than blacks, although black patients have higher mortality rates, particularly black …
Part 2 of a series. My own self-appointed role as my father’s health care advocate during his prostate cancer battle was a natural consequence of my training as a medical researcher. After earning a PhD in medical science, I became the elected family h…
Quick quiz question: two people are diagnosed with melanoma — Sarah Sunburn, an adamant sun-worshipper, and Paula Pale-All-The-Time, a fanatical sun-avoider. Who is more likely to die of the disease? The answer is pale-faced Paula. Surprised? Let…
As a physician who has spent his career taking care of people with HIV/AIDS, cancer and various blood disorders, this is an amazing time to be working in these overlapping fields of medicine. I began my training when roughly half the people diagnosed w…
Late one evening, I received a text from my oldest daughter. “What in medicine, that we do now, will we think is barbaric in 50 years?” Wow. They play more provocative bar games now than they played when I was in my 20s. I promptly texted back my knee-…
“Does a rock float on water?” I asked the haggard woman lying in the ICU bed. I was an intern, in the first rotation of my medical residency, and Mrs. Jones had been my ICU team’s patient for the past week. Over that time, she’d…
Part 1 of a series. The battle I walk into my parents’ home to pick my mom up for a family gathering. And like most days over the past few weeks, palpable sorrow greets me at the door. Our old dog lies sleeping on the couch, heavy with years, she’s dif…
