After over 20 years caring for thousands of cancer patients, what would you do next?
In four days, I begin as Interim Chair of Radiation Oncology and Residency Program Director
@TuftsMedicalCtr
. This new role will let me help through leadership, learning, and collaboration.
@marklewismd
@UBC_SB
Too many doctors are becoming hooked on the dopamine rush of RTs and likes. Have they forgotten their fiduciary responsibility to patients?
I'm sorry as well. We deserve better, and doctors must do better by sharing less.
"The worst thing that can happen is to have an oncologist who does everything - everything - to help cure your cancer. And who does nothing to help you live your life."
Must-see, must-follow
@pre_rad
#bcsm
#lcsm
#radonc
Treatment doesnβt stop for our patients when needed. In today for an emergency treatment, dressed to keep up staff and patient moods with rainbows, a unicorn and gloves.
#COVID19
#radonc
#jc
It has been a hard year, but my son has now made his choice for college. Mazel tov on his decision to join
@Stanford
's Class of 2025! May he thrive, with the opportunity to further challenge himself and find how best to help make our world a little better. πππ
I rarely get personal about family. But I could not be happier for my eldest who has decided to join
@NorthwesternU
Class of 2024! An exciting transition for the first of my children, all better than I am.
Mazel tov
#wildkatz
Oncology = knowledge of tumors. Patients are experiential oncologists. Caregivers are supportive care oncologists.
What if we started an inclusive society of digital oncology dedicated to improving knowledge & cancer care?
#patientsincluded
#s4pm
π€
Top 10 Best-Selling Cancer Drugs 2018
5. Bevacizumab $6.8B +2.4%
4. Trastuzumab $6.95B -0.5%
3. Pembrolizumab $7.2B +88%
2. Nivolumab $7.6B +31%
1. Lenalidomide $9.7B +18%
All
#radonc
is less costly than any one of them
@oncology_bg
@VPrasadMDMPH
@grok_
Please remind the Vice Chancellor that βend-of-pandemicβ hopes do not reduce the risk of transmission. BA.2 will be a reminder I suspect, hopefully I am wrong.
So Western Europe and UK is headed back upwards. Spain is now matching the July peak in the US for new cases/day adjusted for population. Summer fun catching up with us, school, or something else?
@Atul_Gawande
Decreasing routine followup visits for cancer patients (esp if redundant) may decrease exposures among people at high risk of
#COVID19
mortality
@NYTHealth
@LizSzabo
Someone should track not just beds but the number of health professionals able to help hospitalized patients. Should include respiratory therapists, but right now Nevada, Oklahoma, and Indiana may among the states in most trouble.
Saying "I don't know" is critical in medicine. It reinforces trust to speak honestly with our patients and colleagues. It permits us to seek out other solutions, opening doors to healing that may otherwise have remained shut.
#meded
#radonc
I have seen too many patient stories shared online by doctors. Please consider & prepare what you want to share. You may be undermining the trust of your patients & the public, doing harm to them & yourself. A thread 𧡠1/
#MedTwitter
#NurseTwitter
#meded
@DrEricDing
If you look at total cases per population, the opposite seems to be the case at this point in time. Top 10 states you can run the numbers here
Mazel tov to my amazing daughter, who has chosen to join
@LafCol
Class of 2025 for a fantastic liberal arts college education. Her kindness, dedication & diligence will help her build a firm foundation there, so she may thrive & continue to make the world a better place β€οΈπππ
Possibly useful tip for those wearing goggles or face shields and having trouble with fogging up. Shaving cream seems to minimize the fogging. Any other pro tips
#medtwitter
#radonc
for
#COVID19
gear?
Merry Christmas! We have a gift to share w/you for β a
radiation oncology tool to create & name (DICOM-RT), TG-263 compatible structure sets to planning cancer treatments for your patients.
A
#radonc
#medphys
thread 1/
The
@IJROBP
article here:
Outcomes from patients w various types of
#cancer
in California reveal disparities, w improvements in survival over time limited to those w private insurance or Medicare, not uninsured or those w other public insurance.
T3. My
#TipsforNewDocs
When you take care of a brain tumor patient, slow down. Really listen. All patients with tumors need this, but if there are cognitive effects from the disease or your treatments,
slow.
down.
and.
listen.
more.
#btsm
Organizing Online Health Content: Developing Hashtag Collections for Healthier Internet-Based People and Communities
Updated cancer tag ontology data and guidance in JCO CCI
#bcsm
#btsm
#gyncsm
#lcsm
#mmsm
#pancsm
#ayacsm
Enough with evidence-based medicine, it's time for "interpersonal medicine" cueing into the individual w/ heightened empathy, communication, coordination and a stronger relationship
@NEJM
by
@Stacey_Chang
@ThomasHLeeMD
Can we improve how we treat cancer with stereotactic radiation? Yes, we can.
Hereβs a
@ClinOncology
editorial with Drs.
@MichaelTMilano
& Alina Mihai on including clinical treatment volumes (CTVs) for microscopic disease.
#radonc
#medphys
1/
@ShikhaJainMD
@POTUS
@CDCgov
Data would help. If the airlines can prove it's safe, great. But it hasn't been safe, especially since until the plane taxis away from the gate, air isn't circulating and not using any filtration systems.
Loving my latest read by
@nntaleb
already on first page
βIn academia there is no difference between academia and the real world; in the real world, there is.β
#radonc
#AcMed
Radiation is a big black box to most people, including other physicians. Definitely not well understood outside of the specialty. Frankly, that's our own fault.
#bcsm
#radonc
#bcsm
What is the state of mentorship initiatives in radiation oncology? a discussion on
#radonc
#jc
this weekend.
Review article is in press, currently free for download
thanks to IJROBP
@sueyom
et al
πππ
For whom the cancer bell tolls, or should it?
A
#radonc
clinical trial suggests that ringing a bell at the end of radiation treatment may increase patient distress. But it raises more questions than it answers.
My take on
#ASCOconnection
via
@ASCO
It has taken ~ 7 years, but finally my virtual friendship with
@BreastDocUK
has led to sharing dinner and stories in person. Another testament to how both
#socialmedia
and
#ASCO22
can bring people with a common vision together πππ
#radonc
@passantino
@xeni
Unfortunately, as a result SD has the second higher per capita mortality rate, partly because the healthcare system is being overrun.
Given the recent fiasco highlighted by a colleague, it's a reminder not to share too much information online. Even if it's not a HIPAA violation, it may violate a patient's trust. A few points to make. 1/
The number of
#COVID19
deaths in the U.S. has now passed the estimated number of people dying from breast, lung and prostate cancers combined for 2020 [217,240].
@NCIDirector
@tmprowell
Oligoprogression and the Potential Role of Local Ablative Therapy
#radonc
#JC
journal club reviews this concept this weekend with
@alison_tree
et al
#meded
I'm excited to serve on
@ASCO
Taxonomy Committee and learn how we classify and organize cancer care.
What do you want to see in how we evolve in
- disease classification
- risk stratification
- communication
- patient experience
- treatment modalities ?
β‘οΈ βPatients as Experiential Oncologistsβ
A brief summary of a truly serendipitous discussion.
Many thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all πππ
Is SBRT the right way to elicit the elusive abscopal effect for synergy with
#immunotherapy
? What if low dose radiation preserves lymphocytes for an immune response or induces better antigen presentation?
The only way to know will be
#radonc
radiobiology research.
#ASCO18
@davidhogg111
@Seminoles
Floridaβs 2005 βStand Your Groundβ law allowing lethal force in self-defense is linked to:
- higher homicide rates (24.4%);
- higher homicide by firearm (31.6%).
Via
@JAMAInternalMed
β¦
More guns are not the answer.
#gunviolence
@xeni
"Natureβs laws affirm instead of prohibit. If you violate her laws you are your own prosecuting attorney, judge, jury and hangman." -- Luther Burbank
Mourning the murders, attacks, and abductions of innocent people in
#Israel
. Sending prayers for health and safety. May the memories of the dead be blessings to all who knew them. π
@THilalMD
We also should avoid overly scaring patients about recurrence risk with a nuanced approach acknowledging many patients are cured. Weβre just not smart enough to know who.
And any adjuvant therapy should be discussed based on absolute, not relative, risk reduction.
@EricTopol
@ScottGottliebMD
@SteveFDA
.
@SteveHahnMD
is a renowned, accomplished doctor and researcher. We know he knows better.
It's saddening to see scientific understanding give way to political pressure, when we need the truth more than ever.
Thank you to
@ASCO
staff and leadership for organizing a very rewarding visit to Chicago. Lots of learning that reinforces how many dedicated people there are improving cancer control and easing suffering.
Time to bring that goodness home for my patients.
#ASC018
@marklewismd
@UBC_SB
I had high hopes for scalable good that health professionals could do online. I was wrong.
Hopefully weβll learn before we permanently damage the publicβs trust.
@choo_ek
Unfortunately, I suspect there will be a lot of mis-use by lower risk people with financial means. We've seen how disparities have been worsened, this will likely continue to crop up.
Cancer Care in the Time of
#COVID19
We can work to limit the spread of COVID-19 while providing humane, evidence-based cancer care. via
@ASCO
Connection
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.
#ASTRO20
π
@EricTopol
I do hope that the medical community can meet everyone's needs with the spike in cases. Key for keeping mortality low seems to be not ovewhelming the healthcare system. Accurate?