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Articles (24 items)

Saturday 23 February 2008 / Carrie Smith

I would rather have leukemia than…

on 12 Jul 2010 by Nashat Y Gabrail M.D.

The word leukemia has dire connotations in the public’s eye and perception. This is not so, if we know the details. Indeed, the devil is in the detail. Those details can be conveniently summarized in stories and examples. A recent encounter provides such an example which, by no means, is an anecdote. A few months ago, I saw a young [read more]

The New Mammogram Recommendation

on 18 Nov 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

The New Mammogram Recommendation: Is it cost-saving or live-saving? Twenty years ago, as a fellow oncologist at the University of Missouri, I published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine addressing the issue of breast cancer risk after radiation therapy to the breast. My conclusion was that a small dose of radiation is more likely to cause breast [read more]

EMR

on 26 Oct 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

Electronic medical records An electronic medical record (EMR) is essentially a medical chart without paper. This is not an idea for the future. Its application in hospitals and medical offices is overdue. Lee Scott, CEO of Walmart, was the keynote speaker at the United States Governors convention last year. He chose to talk about health care in America, and he made [read more]

Clinical Research Reform Needed

on 04 Sep 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

The process of clinical research and new drug development is getting more complicated and time consuming despite the advances in communication and digital technology. A reform is more urgent than ever now, since the trends in the government seem to be to discourage the use of expensive new drugs and medical devices. Such policy is not a good incentive for [read more]

The Bottom Line

on 04 Sep 2009 by Carrie Smith

Adapting clinical research models to a changing reimbursement environment — Carrie Smith, RN The landscape of oncology clinical research and new drug development has changed dramatically in the last decade. This change has not been an isolated phenomenon, it happened in concert with other changes in the health care delivery system. That change was in response to the alterations in the reimbursement [read more]

Advances in Prostate Cancer

on 29 Jan 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

Advances in Prostate Cancer Talking to patients has been my best educational activity, although that doesn’t earn me any points for my Continued Medical Education (CME). All physicians are required by the Medical Board to accrue CME credits in order to maintain their active medical license. Two presentations I gave this month to prostate cancer survival groups were enlightening. I was [read more]

One drink a day keeps the doctor away

on 29 Jan 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

One drink a day keeps the doctor away Whenever I see patients suffering from the consequences of excessive drinking, my mind goes through the list of so many patients I have seen who lost their lives and, in many cases, destroyed their careers and families because of the misuse of this good medicine. As in many instances, moderation can be good, [read more]

How much chemotherapy is too much?

on 12 Jan 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

How much chemotherapy is too much? Patients and families often ask how we determine the duration of chemotherapy. As usual, trial and error through randomized clinical trials have provided answers to this question for many but not all diseases. One general conclusion from all those trials has been, “More is not always better.” Many times emotions of both patients and physicians get [read more]

Suspect cancer? See the specialist first!

on 12 Jan 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

Suspect cancer? See the specialist first! This is what the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Cancer Society recommends. Is it happening though? Not as often as you might think. Despite the recommendations of the two leading cancer organizations, the majority of cancer patients are seen by the medical oncologists after treatment is initiated, or on many occasions, [read more]

Technology in Cancer Treatment

on 12 Jan 2009 by Nash Gabrail M.D.

Technology in Cancer Treatment Sometimes we treat cancer with one single chemotherapy drug. More often we use combinations of various drugs so that we attack tricky cancer cells from different fronts. It is almost like a war zone where the mischievous strategy can be more effective than the weapon used. The selection of the drug type and dose in the combination [read more]