Oncology/Hematology

Lung cancer in nonsmokers: a hidden health disparity

Conditions

April 12, 2026

May is AANHPI Month. As we celebrate the heritage, resilience, and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, I also think of a poorly recognized health disparity within our community: lung cancer disproportionately affecting women who have never smoked. I was one of these women. Exactly five years ago in May 2021, I underwent major thoracic lung surgery that literally saved my life. The shocking diagnosis made …

Navigating dense breast tissue and breast cancer screening guidelines

Amantia Kennedy, MD

Physician

April 8, 2026

“Pathology confirms invasive ductal carcinoma.”

I had said those words to patients many times before. This time, they were said to me. For years, I had been the voice on the other end of that call, gently guiding patients through one of the hardest moments of their lives. I knew how to say the words. I knew how to explain the diagnosis. I knew how to help women process what came …

Living with numbness after mastectomy: the unseen impact on survivorship

Emily Hansen

Conditions

April 5, 2026

For years, I have heard breast cancer survivors share a common refrain: “I expected to lose my breasts. I did not expect to lose the ability to feel.”

Yet in exam rooms across the country, persistent numbness after mastectomy remains underdiscussed and poorly understood in routine care. It is often framed as an inevitable side effect rather than a life-altering outcome that impacts quality of life after cancer.

We have made tremendous …

The pediatric home health system is failing children with cancer

Alexis Chen Boulter, MD

Conditions

April 1, 2026

A little boy shuffles down the hallway in his yellow hospital-issued socks, completing yet another lap around the unit. You would never guess that he has leukemia, a blur of dark hair and restless energy. In many ways, he is the healthiest child on the pediatric oncology floor. Today marks his twentieth consecutive day in the hospital. Yet he does not have to be here to receive the drug he …

Finding peace by unhooking from ego and achieving a loving presence in medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 30, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Pediatric hematology-oncology physician and co-founder of Pink Coat, MD Tammie Chang discusses the article “Unhooking from the ego in medicine.” Tammie shares her personal journey through depression and clinical burnout, explaining how …

Surviving stage 4 breast cancer: a 10-year journey of hope

Tami Berczuk

Conditions

March 18, 2026

As I approach the 10-year anniversary of hearing the words “I am 99 percent sure you have breast cancer,” I have many emotions: gratitude, fear, anxiety, hope. Having been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2016, then learning it had metastasized to my liver, so stage 4, I had so many questions and so much uncertainty.

Since then, it has been a journey of self-reflection, relationship evaluation, insurance negotiations, family …

EGFR vs. ALK: How molecular profiling defines lung cancer treatment

Dr. Sunny Garg

Conditions

March 14, 2026

In today’s clinical oncology practice, the saying “no two cancers are alike” is more relevant than ever. I recently treated two patients with very similar advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were both critically ill. However, molecular profiling revealed distinct genetic drivers for each case, leading to very different, highly customized treatment plans.

Patient presentation and initial assessment

Both patients, in their late 60s and never-smokers, presented with weight loss, worsening …

Navigating postoperative complications and post-surgical depression

Francisco M. Torres, MD

Conditions

March 13, 2026

Six months ago, I encountered a challenge I never expected: a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy. Even now, writing about it feels surreal. Cancer rearranges life without warning, and surgery, regardless of how “minimally invasive” brochures describe it, alters you in ways only understood through experience.

The post-op instructions said that, within hours of surgery, I needed to stay active. That sounded simple enough beforehand. But no one asked about my fitness …

Winter in Islamabad: Finding hope in the daily struggle

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

March 5, 2026

It is very cold in Islamabad. These days, I feel overwhelmed by joblessness, the constant lack of money, an upcoming medical exam, and the slow progress I am making in life. Apart from studying for my upcoming medical exam, the most consistent part of my routine has become counting money. I check all my bank accounts, calculate every remaining rupee, and make small, anxious plans about how I will manage …

The myth of cancer overdiagnosis: Why screening saves lives

Frederic W. Grannis, Jr., MD

Conditions

March 1, 2026

“Overdiagnosis is a myth that has been created by a handful of individuals who provide no care for women with breast cancer.”

This quote by Dr. Daniel Kopans encapsulates a long-standing and intense debate in the medical community regarding cancer screening.

In the Dec. 9, 2025, issue of the New York Times, Gina Kolata quoted H. Gilbert Welch, MD, on his perspective that “treatments need to be balanced with the consequences …

Beyond BMI: Why weight management must look inside the body

Maureen McBeth, PT

Conditions

February 27, 2026

After more than 25 years in oncology rehabilitation, clinical education, and survivorship care, I’ve learned to be cautious about “good” numbers from common tools like BMI and bathroom scales that don’t match what is actually happening in the body. A recent study confirms it: When used alone, BMI has been found to misclassify up to 34 percent of the general population as obese.

This year, it became more personal when …

A tribute to an oncologist: the power of mentorship in medicine

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

February 22, 2026

Yesterday morning, I learned that one of my teachers had passed away. He was only 63, a devoted, tireless oncologist who spent his life teaching and training many oncologists across Pakistan. Many of his students went on to work abroad as senior oncologists and professors, carrying his legacy far beyond borders.

He was not my direct teacher, but rather the teacher of my supervisor, a teacher of a teacher. Yet distance …

Integrative oncology nutrition: a case study in leukemia recovery

Dr. Manjari Chandra

Conditions

February 21, 2026

She arrived exhausted, a shadow of the lively 31-year-old she once was.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2023, underwent intensive IV chemotherapy, and was now on maintenance oral therapy. When I met her in July 2025, survival was no longer a question. It was about quality of life.

Fatigue consumed her days. Digestive discomfort disrupted her nights. Recurrent infections kept her in constant vigilance. Her laboratory values reflected a body …

When the doctor becomes the patient: a breast cancer journey

Amy E. Sanders, MD

Conditions

February 16, 2026

At 62, I unwittingly became a cliché: the physician who makes a poor patient.

The hard lump in my right breast, directly inferior to the nipple at the 6 o’clock position, shocked and shook me in the middle of a long August night when it first poked me as I tossed and turned my way through a bout of insomnia.

A screening mammogram for September 12 had been on my calendar for …

Medical misinformation: Navigating vaccine hesitancy with empathy

Christine J. Ko, MD

Physician

February 9, 2026

Medical misinformation is rampant but should not be overstated. Vaccination remains a good barometer of the range of opinions on a subject directly related to individual as well as population health. 82 percent of Americans received at least one shot of the COVID vaccine by December 2023. However, more recently, population vaccination rates of children are decreasing.

Perspectives on safety and immunity

The increasing distrust in vaccines may be …

A physician’s quiet reflection on January 1, 2026

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

February 7, 2026

Over the past few days, I have read numerous articles reflecting on 2025: what people achieved, what they lost, how many books they read, and how they touched the lives around them. I found myself lingering on them, thinking, reflecting. But today, I want to pause on something closer to home: my first day of this new year, January 1, 2026.

I am sitting in the library, one of my favorite …

When the doctor becomes the patient: a breast cancer diagnosis

Sue Hwang, MD

Conditions

February 6, 2026

An excerpt from From Both Sides of the Curtain: Lessons and Reflections from an Oncologist’s Personal Breast Cancer Journey.

The mammography waiting room always played HGTV. I had been in this space countless times before, having started routine screening at the age of 40. I always booked the first appointment of the day because I knew all too well how easily schedules could get backed up. Like clockwork, the tech …

Prostate cancer screening limitations: Why PSA isn’t enough

Francisco M. Torres, MD

Conditions

February 5, 2026

As physicians, we spend our careers believing that if we gather enough data, follow the guidelines, and monitor closely, we can stay one step ahead of disease. We reassure patients that early detection saves lives. We quote statistics, interpret lab values, and project confidence. Nothing dismantles that illusion of control quite like becoming a patient.

I have written before about my prostate cancer journey, before the surgery, after the surgery, and …

Remote second opinions bridge the gap in rural cancer survival [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 4, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Practicing oncologist, adjunct professor at Duke University, and chief medical officer at AccessHope Yousuf Zafar discusses his article “Remote second opinions for equitable cancer care.” Yousuf explains how a patient’s zip code …

Breast cancer and the daughter who gave everything

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

February 3, 2026

I had been trying to write this story for a long time. The topic is so heavy that it took a great deal of courage and emotional strength to finally put it into words. This story is not about a patient; rather, it is about a caregiver.

I met Mrs. N. in 2020. She travelled from Gujranwala to Islamabad (a distance of 223 kilometers) to begin her treatment. Mrs. N. was …