Breaking it Down: The Clinic
We’ve already discussed the
importance of our bench research and its work to make an impact on future cancer
therapies that can be offered to patients. But who are these patients and how
can we help them? For most research labs across the world, case reports on cancer
patients are read about in journal articles, and bench research follows after
reading these articles. However, this is not the case in the Roychowdhury Lab.
Dr. Roychowdhury and his clinic team see and work
with the very patients whose cancers we study on the research side
of the lab. The clinic team builds relationships, connects the patient and the rest
of the lab’s work together, and develops an intimate interest in each patient’s
case. What does this look like in the clinic? Our team approaches every patient
with four questions in mind:
QUESTION
1: Who is this person?
Name, date of birth, medical ID
number? Sure, those are important. But that’s not enough to answer Question 1.
Not for this clinic team. We understand that there is more to a patient than
any medical quick sheet can reveal. Is the patient married? Do they have a
family? What is his/her favorite sports team? Hobbies? Favorite memory from
childhood?
Now, these questions may seem
superfluous. Our team will argue that they are essential.
The most important value in interactions between a patient and their doctor is trust.
Asking these questions builds trust—to the clinic team these patients are not
just another name or face—they are new members of our team. Dr. Roychowdhury
and his clinic team are a compassionate group, and they know that for them to
effectively diagnose and treat a patient’s cancer, there needs to first exist
an effective trust, rapport, and teamwork.
QUESTION
2: What kind of cancer is he/she fighting?
Small cell, squamous, blood, etc.
There are many types of cancers patients can be faced with—and the clinic team has
seen them all. Beyond the types of cells forming into a patient’s cancer, there
are additional features the team looks for. Through minimally invasive
practices such as drawing blood or sampling the tumor (biopsy), the clinic team
is able to look into a patient’s genes to find the what is triggering a
patient’s cancer. For example, a breast cancer and liver cancer are different
in many ways. The type of cells, the location, and how it affects the patient. Yet,
sometimes these two (and many other) cancers can have the same genetic problems
that form tumors.
QUESTION
3: Where is this cancer located?
This question serves as the
reconnaissance for the clinic team. You have to know where your enemy is to
fight it effectively—so locating the tumors in a patient is important. This
includes interpreting scan results and understanding that certain cancers like
to move around. Maybe the cancer has metastasized, so now the new strategies
might be necessary. Maybe the patient is in remission, so it’s only a matter of
monitoring progress carefully. No matter what, finding the cancer is essential to effective treatment.
QUESTION
4: How to we approach the fight?
The most important but difficult
question is saved for last. Yet, the beauty of asking the first three questions
best prepares the clinic team and patient to tackle Question 4. Trust has been established
through welcoming a patient into the team. Effective cancer type and location diagnosis
helps locate future directions of care. Promises can’t be made, though—no one
knows everything, and the clinic team isn’t an exception. However, their vast
experience and backing of the research team empowers them to approach each
patient with a unique compassion and curiosity.
Cancer is often the most stressful
thing a patient and his/her family will ever encounter. There isn’t any direct
cure for all of cancer, nor the anxiety that undergoing treatment produces.
It’s a fight. The clinic team in the Roychowdhury Lab and their four questions
for cancer treatment fight beside each patient, every step of the way.
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