Oncology and hematology

2,498 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 51

Are we prepared for the genomics revolution?

February 24, 2015Feb 24, 20152

The president's proposed Precision Medicine Initiative, as mentioned in his recent State of the Union address suggests it's probably time to get ready for some changes in our daily routines as health professionals. I'm not talking about the incredible information…

The president’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative, as mentioned in his recent State of the Union address suggests it’s probably time to get ready for some changes in our daily routines as health professionals.

I’m not talking about the incredible information that has already been produced by researchers examining the human genome. Nor am I referring to the work that is going on in major cancer centers and elsewhere exploring how to better …

Physician voices

Let’s break the association of palliative care as hospice

Don S. Dizon, MD

February 21, 2015Feb 21, 2015

Mom. Dad. Happy. Sad. Friend. Trust. I remember playing this game. A friend would say one thing, and then I would say the first thing that came to my mind. For some reason, it would pass the time. I remember…

Mom. Dad.

Happy. Sad.

Friend. Trust.

I remember playing this game. A friend would say one thing, and then I would say the first thing that came to my mind. For some reason, it would pass the time. I remember how some words would spark an emotion or a memory. Sometimes happy, sometimes not so happy. But, playing that game was one of …

Physician voices

Real miracles: The love that we give to others

James C. Salwitz, MD

February 17, 2015Feb 17, 2015

Short-of-breath, weak, in pain. Cancer -- aggressive, cold, unfair -- ravaged Roger’s body. But maybe, just perhaps, there was a modern medical miracle. A drug. A single daily pill to attack the genetic growth switch in each malignant cell. Only,…

Short-of-breath, weak, in pain. Cancer — aggressive, cold, unfair — ravaged Roger’s body. But maybe, just perhaps, there was a modern medical miracle. A drug. A single daily pill to attack the genetic growth switch in each malignant cell. Only, there was a problem. Not a big problem, really, but possibly fatal. The kind of real life annoyance of living in a modern medical miracle society. The co-pay cost to …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Conditions and diseases

5 things pediatricians should know about treating children who’ve had cancer

Lisa Diller, MD & Peter Manley, MD

February 17, 2015Feb 17, 2015

As survival rates for pediatric cancer continue to improve, more and more pediatric practices include children who have been treated for cancer. Some patients are making the transition back to primary care after finishing their cancer treatment. Others are only a few years post-treatment and still being closely monitored for recurrence. Still others have survived five years or more and are considered cured. Whatever their circumstances, these patients can present …

Physician voices

When the seemingly simple becomes complex

Chiduzie Madubata, MD

February 7, 2015Feb 7, 2015

In medicine, the seemingly simple questions become the complex ones. “How’s it going?” It is a question that is frequently asked whenever we encounter friends and acquaintances. In a given day, we ask this question many times out of courtesy…

In medicine, the seemingly simple questions become the complex ones.

“How’s it going?”

It is a question that is frequently asked whenever we encounter friends and acquaintances. In a given day, we ask this question many times out of courtesy and we expect to hear short, affirmative answers, such as “Things are good,” or “It’s OK” as we continue to walk to where we need to go since we are pressed for …

Physician voices

A patient reminds a doctor: How unpredictable life is

Don S. Dizon, MD

February 2, 2015Feb 2, 20154

I am looking out of my window on a cold and cloudy Boston afternoon and find myself pondering about life: How unpredictable it is, and how one minute can hold no assurance for what happens after. Before I left for vacation, I saw Joan.* She has been under my care for a number of years, living with and thriving despite …

Conditions and diseases

Pathology plays a central role in the era of personalized medicine

Michael Misialek, MD

January 31, 2015Jan 31, 2015

As a pathologist, I recognize the importance of every diagnosis. Behind each slide is a patient, a family, a network of family and friends. A string of dominoes that is set into motion with my diagnosis. All treatment begins with a diagnosis. Each day I make these diagnoses, but on holidays, it takes on even more meaning. As the rest of the world is celebrating the season, coming together, medicine …

Conditions and diseases

Stop with the curbside consultations. They don’t help anyone.

Miranda Fielding, MD

January 29, 2015Jan 29, 201515

Recently a friend of my husband’s in San Diego had a mammogram that showed some suspicious microcalcifications in her right breast. She underwent a stereotactic biopsy which revealed ductal carcinoma in situ, the earliest form of breast cancer also known as stage 0 breast cancer. This type of cancer is non-invasive and does not metastasize, however, if untreated it can progress or recur as a more serious type of breast …

Conditions and diseases

What do you value most at the end of life?

Anne Katz, RN, PhD

January 24, 2015Jan 24, 20154

A friend of mine died after outliving her prognosis for more than a year. I was with her at almost all her appointments with various oncologists. She had asked me to be the note taker for these appointments so that…

Her treatment course was …

Conditions and diseases

Forced chemotherapy in a teen: Exploring the ethics

Ruth Macklin, PhD

January 16, 2015Jan 16, 20158

The case of Cassandra C., a 17-year-old in Connecticut who refused to continue receiving chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin’s lymphoma, poses a genuine ethical dilemma. The dilemma stems from a conflict between two leading ethical principles. One principle, respect for autonomy, calls for respecting individuals’ right to self-determination. In the medical context, that means allowing people to refuse medical treatment, even lifesaving therapy. The other ethical principle, beneficence, directs physicians and hospitals to …

Physician voices

Stuart Scott and his fighting words

Christian Sinclair, MD

January 15, 2015Jan 15, 2015

ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott's recent death has given the American public a chance to reflect on what it means to live with a cancer diagnosis. His speech at the ESPY awards in the summer of 2014 was widely hailed as…

ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott’s recent death has given the American public a chance to reflect on what it means to live with a cancer diagnosis. His speech at the ESPY awards in the summer of 2014 was widely hailed as an inspiration to people with cancer. Obviously, the Jimmy Valvano Award for Perseverance with the ties to cancer research (Jimmy V Foundation) and Scott’s public image as someone being treated …

Read more…

Stuart Scott and his fighting words

Patient voices

When cancer comes to call you, rise up and fight the good fight

Miranda Fielding, MD

January 13, 2015Jan 13, 2015

A patient story tonight, from Jackie: It was one of those days. I had been to the gynecologist the week prior because I somehow knew the sporadic bleeding, which I had experienced, was not a simple urinary tract infection for…

A patient story tonight, from Jackie:

It was one of those days. I had been to the gynecologist the week prior because I somehow knew the sporadic bleeding, which I had experienced, was not a simple urinary tract infection for which I had been treated three times. My doctor did the scrapings and biopsies and had me run down the hall for an ultrasound. I’d had lots of ultrasounds during my pregnancies — …

Physician voices

4 things we can learn from Stuart Scott

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

January 12, 2015Jan 12, 2015

Stuart Scott revolutionized the sportscasting industry with his unique style and likable demeanor on ESPN. Mr. Scott recently passed away after an 8-year battle with recurrent appendiceal cancer. Mr. Scott was a devoted father and put his relationship with his two daughters above everything else. He was a sensational broadcaster and was passionate about his craft. He inspired many young athletes …

Read more…

4 things we can learn from Stuart Scott

Medical education

What I learned after going through the fellowship match

Anonymous

January 7, 2015Jan 7, 20155

You've made it. Four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years (sometimes four or five) of residency, depending on the specialty you chose. You've earned a prestigious title. You are a doctor. But wait, you are…

You’ve made it. Four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years (sometimes four or five) of residency, depending on the specialty you chose. You’ve earned a prestigious title.

You are a doctor.

But wait, you are not done yet.

Want to be a cardiologist, oncologist, or gastroenterologist? Add another three years to the eleven spent to become an independent practitioner. Another three years of interest accruing on that six-figure …

Physician voices

Stemming the flood of memories that threatened to drown her

Jordan Grumet, MD

January 6, 2015Jan 6, 2015

Julie was lost in thought. Her right pointer finger slowly traced the edges of the metallic trinket. It was tucked far enough into her pant pocket that only the longest digit could reach. Back and forth, her hand moved caressingly,…

Julie was lost in thought.

Her right pointer finger slowly traced the edges of the metallic trinket. It was tucked far enough into her pant pocket that only the longest digit could reach. Back and forth, her hand moved caressingly, pausing from time to time to inspect any irregularity, any imperfection. In such a manner Julie built a mental image of the old forgotten piece of jewelry. Her hands visually occupied …

Conditions and diseases

The hardest and often worst part of medicine: The waiting

Sarah Mongiello Bernstein, MD

January 5, 2015Jan 5, 20152

My brother wears a scar around his neck. It represents his second surgery for papillary thyroid cancer. The first started off the same way. Ugly, red and angry. Curving like an ominous smile around his neck, like a noose. That’s how it felt too — the lump in his throat growing as he sat quietly, alone in a doctor’s office. It’s interesting how physical scars are a visual manifestation of …

Conditions and diseases

MKSAP: 66-year-old man with vague abdominal pain

mksap

January 3, 2015Jan 3, 2015

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 66-year-old man is evaluated for vague abdominal pain of several months' duration and a 10-kg (22-lb) weight loss. He drinks alcohol socially but…

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 66-year-old man is evaluated for vague abdominal pain of several months’ duration and a 10-kg (22-lb) weight loss. He drinks alcohol socially but does not smoke. The patient is otherwise well, has good performance status, and takes no medications.

On physical examination, vital signs are normal. No lymphadenopathy is noted. Cardiopulmonary examination …

Conditions and diseases

Being a patient made me a better doctor and physician leader

Craig Mittleman, MD

January 1, 2015Jan 1, 20157

It was last summer in July when I became sick. It was a range of not unusual upper respiratory symptoms, but as time progressed and my symptoms didn’t respond to the usual combination of steroids and antibiotics, I became concerned. I’d developed a more distinct pain in my chest and became increasingly mindful about those bad things we see from time …

Conditions and diseases

The people who will cure cancer are the patients

Kenneth D. Bishop, MD, PhD

December 25, 2014Dec 25, 20148

Sometimes I tell people I’m learning how to treat cancer, and their first question is ‘why haven’t we cured cancer yet?’ We will. It’s coming. In medicine, we’re much better at treating infections than cancer, but it wasn’t always that…

Sometimes I tell people I’m learning how to treat cancer, and their first question is ‘why haven’t we cured cancer yet?’

We will. It’s coming.

In medicine, we’re much better at treating infections than cancer, but it wasn’t always that way:

We didn’t know washing your hands before delivering a baby was safer for women until 1847.
The concept of a germ was proposed in 1870.
The first

…

Patient voices

When discussing cancer treatment, the approach matters

Michael Carbine

December 20, 2014Dec 20, 20149

Dr. Peterson, the radiation oncologist, gets right to the point. "The medical center's tumor board has concluded that your cancer is inoperable, incurable and untreatable," he says flatly. "Any chemotherapy or radiation treatments would be palliative in nature." He begins…

Dr. Peterson, the radiation oncologist, gets right to the point.

“The medical center’s tumor board has concluded that your cancer is inoperable, incurable and untreatable,” he says flatly. “Any chemotherapy or radiation treatments would be palliative in nature.”

He begins explaining the reasons behind the board’s verdict, but everything he’s saying washes out. My mind stopped working as soon as I heard the words “incurable” and “palliative.” I am sliding into shock.

Dr. …

Oncology and hematology

Articles, page 51

Real physician voices, twice a week

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular