Francisco J. Esteva, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital, shared on LinkedIn:
“When metastatic breast cancer is suspected, the first question is not which drug to choose.
Before treatment can be selected, doctors must answer four essential questions:
1. Has metastatic disease actually been confirmed?
2. Can-and should-a suspicious lesion be biopsied?
3. How urgent is the clinical situation?
4. What clinical and biological information is still needed?
This is why patients with apparently similar diagnoses may require very different first steps.
In the first episode of Season 2 of How Doctors Decide, I explain how oncologists confirm the diagnosis, assess urgency, and gather the evidence needed before recommending treatment.
Which of these decisions do you think patients understand least?
Watch the episode. See sources in the comments below.”
Other articles featuring Francisco J. Esteva on OncoDaily.