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David and Caitlin join us today to discuss how cancer invades our lives, moving from our professional life into our personal space. Caitlin shares how her father was diagnosed with three different types of cancer and how she felt about the overnight transition from visiting her husband at work for lunch to regularly visiting the clinic as her father’s caregiver. We discuss how our role as medical oncologists can impact how we handle death in our personal lives and how David and Caitlin talk to their children about death and dying, the uncomfortable convergence between our personal and professional lives when someone we know and love is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and what it’s like when we need to take care of a colleague’s family member. They also share their memories and experiences of involving hospice care, how grief and the grieving process impacts people differently, and how Caitlin’s father passing away impacted their perspectives on death and dying.

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This week, we discuss what makes some conversations more difficult than others and why they’re so important to have with our patients. We discuss why oncologists should acknowledge and embrace the ‘uncomfortableness’ of having difficult conversations with their patients and share tips for delivering serious or difficult news. We discuss what ‘Red Level Concerns’ are and share tips to help healthcare professionals handle them more effectively and empathetically. We also discuss why it’s critical to validate a patient’s or caregiver’s concerns without passing judgment and the importance of remaining calm while having these difficult conversations with your patients.

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This week, we discuss the anatomy of a difficult conversation. We discuss the impact of delaying or avoiding a difficult conversation and explore what makes some conversations more difficult than others. We discuss how our emotions play a role in our interactions with patients and how we can cope with these emotions to improve patient care. We also discuss why healthcare workers must identify the difference between their feelings and their patients’ emotions and the steps we can take to set clear, healthy boundaries between our emotions and those of our patients.

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This week, Dr. Brian Burnette, Dr. Ruth Warren, and Dr. Matthew Ryan join us to discuss our oncologists’ sacrifices to bring cancer care closer to home for our patients. We discuss the average costs and time investments associated with traveling to outreach clinics to provide cancer care to patients and what they do to plan and prepare for travel. We discuss the common mistakes they’ve made when traveling to outreach clinics, the amount of time they’ve spent away from their family and friends to treat our patients, and how they cope with spending so much time away from their loved ones. We also discuss why Green Bay Oncology decided to purchase a property near our outreach clinics and how our perspectives have changed since we began offering outreach clinic treatment.

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Dr. Tony Jaslowski joins us today to discuss why providing cancer care close to home is important. We discuss the travel expenses often associated with receiving cancer treatments and why they often cause patients to delay their treatment. We discuss how often many cancer patients need to visit the oncologist for cancer treatments and how they typically feel after a round of treatment. We also discuss the psychological benefits of receiving cancer treatment at medical facilities closer to home as well as how outreach clinics impact the local communities.
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When you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, the last thing you want to think about is, ‘How will I get to my treatment appointments.’ Yet, this is something many cancer patients nationwide often struggle with – especially those who live in smaller, more rural towns. While most cancer treatment clinics require patients to come to their facility for treatment, some clinics – like Green Bay Oncology – go above and beyond to ensure patients receive the care they need. And we do this by (literally) driving hundreds of miles out of our way almost every day of every week to all corners of Northeastern Wisconsin and upper Michigan. And while traveling this distance so frequently can prove to be challenging for our staff, we know it’s also what makes Green Bay Oncology the best at providing phenomenal, top-quality care to our patients.

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Matt Malcore is a 5th generation funeral director and Malcore Funeral Home & Crematory owner. Since he was a young boy, Matt hoped that he could serve the Green Bay community the way his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have for over 100 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UW-Stevens Point and Associates’s degree in Applied Sciences from Worsham College. He has coached for the Green Bay Strikers as well as Notre Dame Academy and is a proud member of the Green Bay and De Pere Antiquarian Society. During his free time, Matt enjoys playing in the NWSL adult soccer league for Westchester United and spending time with his wife, Lisa, their children, Violet and Oliver, and their faithful companion, Evie.

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Dr. Burnette and Erika join us today to discuss the power dynamics between doctors and patients and why some people are often surprised when conflicts arise between doctors and patients. We discuss the letter Erika sent to Green Bay Oncology that expressed deep concerns about a comment Dr. Burnette made during one of her appointments, how we addressed her concerns, and how we perceived it as an opportunity to learn and improve our patient care. We discuss why some patients avoid expressing their negative thoughts and feelings about their care to their doctors or advanced practitioners and what Erika would like more oncology doctors to remember when speaking with their patients. They also share their advice to patients who may be frustrated with their doctor’s bedside manner, why doctors should lean on the other care team members to ensure top-quality care, and how their doctor-patient relationship has evolved after this experience.

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Dr. Burnette and Dr. Ryan join us today to discuss one of the most common questions we receive from our patients at Green Bay Oncology: “Which one of you is my doctor?” We discuss the difference between visiting your primary care doctor and your oncologist and why it may be impossible to see the same oncology doctor at each visit. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of seeing multiple oncology providers versus maintaining the ‘one doctor, one patient’ approach to cancer care. We share ideas on how we can further improve the multiple-provider approach to patient care and how oncology teams can address the needs of their patients seeking an emotional bond with their physicians. We also discuss how oncology physicians and advanced practice providers can make the multi-provider approach feel like the gold standard of cancer care for patients.

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Kylie and Brittany join us again to discuss the emotional hazards we face as oncology doctors and nurses. We discuss the challenge of being self-aware of our emotional state as oncology doctors and why it’s okay for nurses to ‘check in’ with physicians when the physician is experiencing symptoms of compassion fatigue. We discuss how opening communication pathways between physicians and nurses can help reduce and mitigate frustration and aggravation in the workplace. We also discuss the least helpful traits physicians and nurses can have and the stereotypical traits many nurses have that doctors admire most. [Read more…]