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The Tragic Anniversary of COVID-19

It is hard to believe it was just a year ago when all of this started. And now to realize that after everything that we have gone through we are still not near the end of the journey. One year ago I had just started having conversations with knowledgeable colleagues about the threat of this new potentially fatal virus. It was the beginning with cases of a new viral illness reported out of China, a killer virus that was still very much a theoretical threat of what could happen here in the United States.  The back-of-the-envelope COVID-19 death projections we… Read More »The Tragic Anniversary of COVID-19

COVID Truth In A Post-Truth World: Is It Another Big Lie?

“Biden’s Covid-19 Plan Is Maddeningly Obvious: You can’t help but wonder why the Trump administration left so many of these things undone.” That’s the headline for Ezra Klein’s opinion column in today’s New York Times. It is a question many have been pondering for months. And although I had a thought as to why it was so, I didn’t want to share because at its heart it was so outrageous and unbelievable:  Maybe, just maybe, it was all intentional. They planned it this way. It was—simply put—another “Big Lie.” Why was this Big Lie also so successful? Just think where… Read More »COVID Truth In A Post-Truth World: Is It Another Big Lie?

Does COVID Winter Mean Rationing Care For Those With Cancer?

We are facing a surge in corona virus cases. Hospitals are at their limits throughout the United States. Nurses, doctors, hospital staffs are overwhelmed. They are tired, and relief is not in sight. Does that mean we will start seeing health care rationed, especially for cancer patients whose prognosis may be uncertain? Sadly, that may be the case over the next several weeks if we don’t reverse our current course to disaster.  During the early days of the COVID19 pandemic one of my worst fears was the possibility that cancer patients could not get hospital treatment if needed as a… Read More »Does COVID Winter Mean Rationing Care For Those With Cancer?

Cancer Advocacy: A Precious Resource In A Time Of Immense Needs

Cancer advocacy is not often top of mind, even for patients and families facing active diagnoses and treatments for cancer. However, with the added impact of COVID-19 on our health and well being, advocacy and service in the cancer space is becoming more important than ever. That is one of the messages that came from a webinar I participated in this morning on “Cancer Care Patient Advocacy Perspectives” as part of a series of discussions being presented over the course of several months by the Association for Value Based Cancer Care.  Organizations providing advocacy and service to those with cancer… Read More »Cancer Advocacy: A Precious Resource In A Time Of Immense Needs

It’s Time To Address The Needs Of Cancer Survivors

16 million cancer survivors in the United States, growing every year. Success stories we never would have imagined even a decade ago. And yet, when it comes to genuinely understanding the impacts of cancer treatments and what happens over the long term to young and older survivors alike, we are woefully uniformed and under-prepared—and as a nation don’t have a unified plan to address the issue. That’s my take away nugget from a two day workshop just completed on “Addressing the Adverse Consequences of Cancer Treatment,” convened by the National Cancer Policy Forum, which is part of the National Academies… Read More »It’s Time To Address The Needs Of Cancer Survivors

Hydroxychlorqine for COVID-19: Time To Move On?

Hydroxychloroquine has become a part of the COVID story that will not go away.  And with another research study reported today in JAMA showing no benefit of the drug in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the journal asks the fundamental question: Why do we continue to believe this drug has benefit in treating this pandemic illness, and why won’t science prevail? To which we respond: Why are we surprised???? The study, performed by a clinical trial collaborative under the guidance of the National Heart and Lung Institute of the National Institutes of Health included 479 patients in 34 hospitals around the… Read More »Hydroxychlorqine for COVID-19: Time To Move On?

A Wanton, Deliberate and Callous Disregard for the Truth and Science Regarding COVID-19

No one really wants to say this about national political leadership, especially in a time of serious nationwide distress and even moreso at a time of heightened political tension and presidential elections, lest one’s comments be dismissed as being politically motivated.  However given the events of the past months and especially the past few days, it must be said:  Our national (and some state) political leaders are demonstrating a wanton, deliberate and callous disregard for truth and for science, and as a result we are now entering a period of intense national emergency leading to avoidable illness, death and potential… Read More »A Wanton, Deliberate and Callous Disregard for the Truth and Science Regarding COVID-19

Unproven Treatments in COVID-19: Why Do They Persist?

A recent conversation among a group of physicians gave me a fair amount of distress and discomfort.  The topic was an unproven treatment for COVID-19, the discomfort was the disinformation—in my opinion—being shared, and the distress was the fact that the discussion likely reflected what some doctors are actually doing for the treatment of patients who are infected with the corona virus. Evidence was left at the doorstep. As I reflected on the conversation I realized it was not unlike what I have experienced over decades as a medical oncologist, especially in years past where there was literally very little… Read More »Unproven Treatments in COVID-19: Why Do They Persist?

The United States Leads The Developed World In COVID-19 Deaths. Really.

We have had a bit of a debate in this country whether or not we had an effective response to the corona virus pandemic. Now new data shows that not only have we done a poor job of controlling COVID-19 infections and deaths but our outcomes have been among the worst in the developed world. That’s hard to believe, but it is true. At least that’s what the data shows. The research report published yesterday in JAMA starts with the comment that “The US has experienced more deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than any other country and has one… Read More »The United States Leads The Developed World In COVID-19 Deaths. Really.

COVID Truth In A Post-Truth World: “I Dunno” Is Not An Answer

“I dunno…” That’s what our 3 year old granddaughter used to say when asked a question. What made it especially cute was when she raised her hands upward to the side of her head and gave a quizzical facial expression with her response. When she said “I dunno” it was cute. Today, when we hear it as a nation it isn’t so cute. It is deadly serious in the truest sense of the word. Today we are living what I have called “COVID truth”, a moment in time where truth is no longer true and where the alteration and repetition… Read More »COVID Truth In A Post-Truth World: “I Dunno” Is Not An Answer