By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    The Real Debate: Who Should Pay If Providers Fail to Curb Medicare Costs — Seniors or the Government?
    August 16, 2012
    sovaldi treatment
    Hooray for High-Priced Hepatitis Treatment Sovaldi
    April 4, 2014
    Innovating Healthcare System Strategy: Creating the Commercial ACO
    September 30, 2012
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 20, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 20, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 20, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Navigating Cancer Faster
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Navigating Cancer Faster
eHealthTechnology

Navigating Cancer Faster

Andrew Schorr
Andrew Schorr
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

navigating cancerFor most cancers, there are no longer “one-size-fits-all” treatment plans.

navigating cancerFor most cancers, there are no longer “one-size-fits-all” treatment plans. And at the recent American Society of Hematology meeting in San Francisco, we heard not only that this is changing but that it is changing quickly. I almost feel sorry for the growing ranks of “nurse navigators” who will have many long nights studying just to keep up. Monoclonal antibodies for myeloma, new medicines for CLL, some people stopping medicine for CML, many trials in MPNs, breakthroughs in lymphomas and some acute leukemias. Add to that the looming “immuno-oncology” and how experts are saying it could revolutionize cancer care. How do we all keep up?

We’ve just interviewed more than 40 experts—patients as well as MDs—about these topics, and we’ve been bringing what they say directly to patients worldwide living with these conditions, and their care partners. This year we even streamed a session with a myeloma expert live, so patients could ask questions about the news right as it happened. And we have been rushing to publish our video interviews that were recorded. Even with that, patients have been writing me expressing frustration that it takes so long. They want news for their cancer NOW! And then what happens? They call or visit their clinic and ask questions. I imagine this week after ASH there will be many calls and many questions. That’s a good thing.

Community oncology leaders like Dr. Rob Rifkin from the US Oncology Network told me during an interview the other day they are committed to patients having access to the latest treatments and clinical trials close to home. I got the same message when chatting with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center folks. Together, they treat hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. And our effort is to make those cancer patients smarter and now to do it faster.

More Read

Secure Use of Social Media: Ensuring the Privacy of Protected Health
How Mobile Technologies Are Changing the Face of Medicine
What Are The Factors Influencing eHealth Market Growth?
Collaborating with Patients in the Digital Information Age
What’s a Guy Like Me Doing at the Consumer Electronics Show, Anyway?

So that brings me back to the nurse navigator sitting alongside the patient. They will have to sprint to keep up. But before we had nurse navigators, there were few people who had the time or the role to answer questions to foster education. So we are taking huge steps forward in a dialogue between the healthcare team and people affected by cancer. Thank God, in many cancers there is so much to talk about.

Remember when you got your first computer, and you thought the processing speed was pretty fast? And then, over time, it wasn’t fast enough? Now cancer patients are beginning to expect a faster pace: faster genetic analysis of their precise situation, faster more complete discussion of the options—including trials—and a faster pace for clinic-to-patient communication overall.

I know, by law, hospitals and clinics in the U.S. will soon be required to have online patient portals active. That will create secure channels for our test results, our appointments, and it should also be a place where personalized education lives, too—and that changes as our situation changes.

For so many years, not much changed in cancer care. Now it makes your head spin. The experts are excited and many patients are, too. So we better start actively talking to one another, regularly, and faster. When you have cancer, taking the slow road to better care or a cure is not an option.

TAGGED:cancer
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

DiagnosticsMedical InnovationsSpecialtiesTechnology

New Technology Will Catch Alzheimer’s in the Early Stages

December 28, 2016

Should You Trust Your Doctor More Than Wikipedia?

June 3, 2014

Top 10 iPhone Apps that Doctors and Medical Students Can Rely On

April 10, 2012

FDA Clears Telcare’s mHealth Cellular Connected Glucose Meter

August 4, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?