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Brittany and Kylie join us again today to discuss how oncology doctors and nurses sometimes annoy each other, We discuss how doctors and nurses teaching and working styles vary, how they approach a patient case differently, and how these differences in patient care approaches can sometimes lead to tension in the workplace. We discuss the balancing act between providing quantity of life and quality of life for our patients and why it’s critical for oncology doctors and nurses to stay focused on providing both. We discuss why nurses often feel like they’re the ‘middle man’ between doctors, patients, and other clinic departments and how that can often lead to heightened frustration. We also discuss how doctors and nurses work together to achieve the same goal – despite the different styles they use to achieve it – and the challenges associated with getting caught in a patient’s ‘emotional crossfire.’ [Read more…]

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Kylie and Brittany join us today to share their journey into oncology nurses’ roles and explain their responsibilities as a Care Manager and Infusion Nurse. We discuss some of the common challenges many oncology nurses face in their day-to-day careers and what they believe should be an oncology nurse’s primary focus and responsibility. We discuss the common causes of patient-doctor misunderstandings, how each patient responds to a cancer diagnosis and treatment plan differently, and how oncology nurses help bridge the misalignment gap when helping patients cope and understand their diagnosis and treatment options. We discuss what it means to take care of the ‘whole patient and the benefits of taking a holistic approach to patient care. We also explain why oncology nurses are often not allowed to make certain medical decisions for their patients, how they can play an active role in a patient’s care plan, and the role of trust in a doctor-nurse working relationship. [Read more…]

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In this episode, we sat down with Green Bay Oncology’s founders – Dr. Paul Koch, Dr. Skip McGovern, Dr. Jules Blank, and Dr. Gerald Bayer again as well as Dr. Tony Jaslowski, a practicing oncologist and hematologist at Green Bay Oncology. We discuss how a service and ethics team approach was established from the very beginning of our practice. We discuss how we continue to work toward keeping that ethos and culture alive and thriving at GBO today. We discuss how they promoted teamwork, camaraderie, and equality during the organization’s infancy and their shared values for putting the patient’s needs first before focusing on the bottom line. We discuss our mission to maintain an honest, compassionate practice of care and how this mission has been recognized as our practice’s  – and our founders’ – legacy. We also discuss how clinical research trials began at GBO and how cancer research has evolved over the last three decades. [Read more…]

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Dr. Paul Koch, Dr. Skip McGovern, Dr. Jules Blank, Dr. Gerald Bayer, and Dr. Tony Jaslowski join us again today to discuss the evolution of cancer care, what cancer treatment plans were like when Green Bay Oncology first began, and the treatment options that are currently available to oncologists and patients. We discuss how cancer research has improved the life expectancy of many patients with various types of cancer over the last several decades. They share the most memorable cancer treatment developments that occurred over the course of their careers and the cancer drugs they were glad to see retire. We also discuss how the introduction of in-home hospice care has significantly improved the quality of life for terminally ill cancer patients and how the number of cancer patients being admitted into the hospital for cancer treatment side effects has been impacted by the development of modern drug treatment options. [Read more…]

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Cancer has been around for over 20,000 years, but we’ve only been able to treat it for about the last century, and treating cancer had a bumpy start.

From the radical mastectomies and crude radiation treatments of the late 1800s to a chemotherapy treatment achieving the first cancer remission in 1948, the research has inspired the oncology community to continue to improve cancer treatment options. By the 1970s, it turned the public’s opinion of the oncology field from being a ‘fringe science’ into a highly respected, full-blown medical specialty. And with this increased credibility for the industry, Dr. Paul Koch founded Green Bay Oncology in 1976. He was the first medical oncologist in Northeastern Wisconsin and offered only 6 treatments with no partners. But that quickly changed. Today, Dr. Koch’s practice currently has 13 oncology doctors, offers hundreds of treatment options, and has helped over 60,000 cancer patients receive the treatment and care they deserve.

[Read more…]

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The practice of cancer medicine is complex and demanding. And like anything that takes practice, we’ll spend our whole lives trying to get it right. In each episode, the white coats come off as the dedicated men and women who take on cancer every day unpack the complexities of their work and share stories of how it’s done—and why they keep at it