Cancer and Oncology

Tag: diagnosis

  • Multi-Disciplinary Meetings (MDMs)

    The standard of care for patients with cancer is to discuss their case with peers and peers of associated specialities. Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, etc. Each of them are vital parts of the multi-disciplinary team.

    We meet weekly to discuss and finalize the management plan for each patient.

    One of the things which changed due to the Covid pandemic was the ability to adapt to video conferencing. Now, nearly all our meetings are hybrid with Face-to-face meeting along with Microsoft Teams or Zoom inputs.

    It was an interesting challenge to convince people to use Teams and Zoom, but it has become the default now. The huge advantage being the ability to engage with people from across the city, state or beyond.

    Most of us now have Teams or Zoom on our phones, ipads and laptops – working from offices and cars.

    Life finds a way.

  • Decoding Positive and Negative Terms in a Cancer Diagnosis

    English and Medicine are not always the most complimentary areas.

    Patients are told by their doctors that:

    • The disease has progressed – patients are happy, progress is a good word – but doctors mean that the disease has worsened
    • The lymph nodes are positive – patients are happy, positive is a good word – but doctors mean that the cancer has spread beyond the primary organ
    • HER2 is positive – patients are happy, positive is a good word – but doctors mean that the cancer is more aggressive
    • KRAS is positive – patients are happy, but negative KRAS is better
    • EGFR is mutant – patients are sad, but mutant is better

    It is important to explain the terminology to the patient and their support members. Most times during the first consultation, after the patient hears that the cancer diagnosis is confirmed, they shut down internally. They do not hear most things after that.