Oncology/Hematology

The Chief Poisoner: a chemotherapy poem

Ron Louie, MD

Physician

January 7, 2026

An excerpt from What the Physician Whispered.

You are looking at me, little one,
perhaps wondering who I might be.
Even though I might seem friendly,
you seem wary and frightened, not yet
used to seeing strangers and busy places.
Someone thought maybe I might help save you.

I offer to give you poison.

They have not told you, because they do not know
how sick you really are, meaning how close you are
to an unexpected conclusion that …

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The Chief Poisoner: a chemotherapy poem

The emotional toll of leaving patients behind

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

January 1, 2026

This is not a detailed story like the ones I usually write. It’s just a little breeze of warmth that touched my soul and heart, and I wanted to share it with you.

I had been so overwhelmed over the past weeks, taking care of so many patients for months and staying in a place where there was no one to listen to me. In fact, I was the only listener …

Early detection fails when screening guidelines ignore young women [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 30, 2025

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Psychotherapist and patient advocate Sara Rands discusses her article “Early-onset breast cancer: a survivor’s story.” Sara shares her harrowing journey of finding a lump at age 32 despite having no family history …

The anticoagulant evidence controversy: a whistleblower’s perspective

David K. Cundiff, MD

Meds

December 29, 2025

My partner broke her femur in a Zumba class just before Christmas 2025 and had successful surgery. Following successful surgery, physicians prescribed Lovenox (an anticoagulant) and Plavix (an antiplatelet drug), the standard regimen for preventing or treating venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the intervention proved very risky: She lost three pints of blood into her leg and required a two-pint blood transfusion, direct complications of the Lovenox and Plavix.

Physicians adopted anticoagulants …

The quiet bravery of breast cancer screening

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

December 26, 2025

There is a stillness in the waiting room,
not exactly silence,
but a quiet that settles over chairs,
minds diverted elsewhere.

Here, women sit in chairs
with their thoughts
floating in opposing directions,
pretending to read magazines,
while their minds
wander hallways
they would rather not travel.

My name is called softly,
and my heart skips a beat,
the time has come.

I follow the routine,
changing from street clothes
into bare arms and a borrowed gown
that never seems to fit properly.

I take a deep breath,
trying …

How automation threatens medical ethics principles

Muhammad Mohsin Fareed, MD

Conditions

December 26, 2025

With an overwhelming role of automation in modern health care industry, the concept of medical ethics seems to be fading away in the waves of murky economic profiting from value-based bundles meant for pure revenue generation. The commercialized approach towards practice of medicine requires readdressing the core ethical framework which lies at the hearth of patient-doctor relationship. Being innate and inextricable part of clinical medicine, ethical responsibility is meant for …

A doctor’s humbling journey through prostate cancer recovery [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 25, 2025

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Interventional physiatrist Francisco M. Torres discusses his article, “A doctor’s own prostate cancer recovery.” He shares his vulnerable story of undergoing a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and the unexpected shame and “erosion of …

Profit vs. patients in the U.S. health care system

Banu Symington, MD

Physician

December 18, 2025

Illness is inevitable, and medical care can be expensive. The U.S. is the only developed nation without some form of universal health care. Instead, it relies on a for-profit system in which insurance companies often seek ways to reduce costs, sometimes by delaying or denying coverage for services. These delays can include requirements such as prior authorization or peer-to-peer reviews for standard, guideline-directed treatments. This process takes up health care …

Why EMR usability is a patient safety issue

Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA

Conditions

December 7, 2025

As an oncologist, I’ve sat through the 24- to 48-hour EMR trainings that claim to prepare clinicians for new systems. They rarely do. The average physician still spends one to two days in technical onboarding and another month fumbling through screens before feeling comfortable. Versions vary wildly even within the same vendor, and every move to a new hospital resets the learning curve.

One night in a rural hospital, I watched …

Cancer care’s financial toxicity [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 6, 2025

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Oncologist and health care executive Yousuf Zafar discusses his article, “When cancer costs too much: Why financial toxicity deserves a place in clinical conversations.” Yousuf explains the concept of “financial toxicity,” a …

How new pancreatic cancer laser therapy works

Cliff Dominy, PhD

Conditions

December 5, 2025

Researchers at Sichuan University in China have developed a laser therapy that selectively kills pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue. The technology, built around a 6.1-micron laser, takes advantage of the characteristic collagen fingerprint within PDAC tumors to focus the laser energy where it is needed the most.

The technology has received full approval from the Chinese National Medical Products Administration and will be developed …

A husband’s story of end-of-life care at home

Ron Louie, MD

Physician

November 27, 2025

The British tend to use the term “carer” for the people who help other persons with needs. It seems to emphasize its root word, care, with implications for family members, volunteer helpers, and professionals who fill that role. The American term tends to be “caregiver;” its usage has become more common.

Even when I worked in health care, I had never used either of those terms. But over the last fifteen …

Transforming patient fear into understanding through clear communication [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 24, 2025

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Counselor and certified coach Mary Remón and oncologist Tiffany Troso-Sandoval discuss their article, “Clear communication is kind patient care.” They explore the common scenario of patients leaving the office more confused and …

Why toys matter in the exam room

Diego R. Hijano, MD

Conditions

November 23, 2025

Children often surprise us with the seriousness they bring to a clinic visit. Every so often, when the room feels tense, I turn to a simple question and ask what their favorite toy is. Caregivers smile, and children lean forward with the kind of excitement that only play can spark. In a moment, the atmosphere changes. The room feels lighter, the conversation easier, and the visit begins to unfold with …

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Why toys matter in the exam room

Glioblastoma immunotherapy trial: a new breakthrough

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Conditions

November 22, 2025

All clinical trials are fueled, in part, by optimism. A trial currently underway in California is fueled by the optimism of one patient in particular, Kayvon Goodarzy.

Despite decades of effort, there has been an abject lack of new approved therapies for glioblastoma (GBM). The standard of care for this deadly brain tumor has been chemotherapy and radiation, to less-than-ideal results. But that might be changing, and it’s all thanks …

Early-onset breast cancer: a survivor’s story

Sara Rands

Conditions

November 21, 2025

I found a lump at age 32, just four months after a clear clinical breast exam. No family history. No genetic markers. I noticed the golf-ball-sized mass one day while putting on my bra.

It turned out to be stage 3C, with spread to 14 lymph nodes, as advanced as it gets without being terminal. I went through a year of aggressive treatments: bilateral mastectomy, chemo, radiation, reconstruction, and hormone therapy.

My …

Remote second opinions for equitable cancer care

Yousuf Zafar, MD

Conditions

November 20, 2025

Where a person lives far too often determines the quality of cancer care they receive and, ultimately, their chances of survival. Despite decades of progress in precision oncology, stark disparities persist between patients treated in urban academic centers and those in rural or underserved communities. A JAMA Network Open study of nearly 37,000 patients found that when rural and urban patients receive the same, protocol-driven care, their outcomes …

The danger of dismantling DEI in medicine

Jacquelyne Gaddy, MD

Physician

November 18, 2025

I am a gastrointestinal medical oncologist. I am also a Black woman. When people ask me how I got here, this is the story I share. In 2011, while sitting in a medical school lecture I received an email from a classmate that read: “Open this, you should apply.” It described a program for students who are underrepresented in medicine and interested in pursuing a career in oncology. Without hesitation, …

A story of gaps in cancer care

Arno Loessner, PhD

Conditions

November 17, 2025

Since a diagnosis of colon and rectal cancer in 1993, I have had a number of serious complications and a recurrence. Some, if not most of what occurred could have been avoided. My experience points to some gaps in my health care that providers and patients might want to consider.

I was given the option to choose a cancer treatment and made the wrong choice. As a busy university administrator, I …

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A story of gaps in cancer care