Comorbidity can be summed up in a simple question: “In addition to cancer, what else is wrong with you?” A comorbidity is an existing and unrelated diagnosis at the time of a cancer diagnosis. Common comorbidities include heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Nearly 30 such comorbid conditions occur frequently enough and contribute to treatment...
Shared decision-making and value-based care are emerging approaches to obtaining additional value from patient care. Shared decision-making is the process of interacting with patients who wish to be involved in arriving at an informed, values-based choice among two or more medically reasonable alternatives. It attempts to stimulate collaborative discussion between physicians and patients to better...
While a cancer diagnosis can strike fear into the hearts of many, there are now effective treatments for many types of the disease. There is a sizable population of people who have survived cancer, particularly in Western nations like the United States and Europe. Scientific progress in cancer treatment, such as advances in technology, detection/diagnostic...
You may be familiar with the term “personalized medicine.” This means that your treatment will be tailored to your genes and the nature of your disease. The information for how your cells should increase and change over time is stored in your genes. Specific genes are involved in or affected by many types of cancer....
