An expert reviews best practices for assisting and guiding patients in their journey when navigating complex treatment decisions and options.
Sonya Negley, IOM, CSMA:It’s really important for all the patient advocacy organizations to [firstly] not be the physician, not be the oncologist—that is critical. Making sure each patient does what’s best for them is the most important thing. [Make] sure they feel comfortable speaking with their care team. [Make] sure their care team understands the language that’s used in metastatic breast cancer—and it is very different from other breast cancers—but [make] sure they understand what that is and how it equates to their care. [If patients don’t feel comfortable with their care team, help them] search for the best-qualified person to serve them.
We tell people all the time [that] we have brilliant clinicians and brilliant oncologists, but they can’t be the experts in every cancer if they’re seeing more than [patients with] breast cancer or [with] metastatic breast cancer. It’s hard to be the expert, so if we can help guide or educate patients on what is available or what’s coming new to the market, it also helps patients take responsibility to guide their oncologist.
And probably the most important thing is that patients feel comfortable sharing what’s going on with their care team, because it’s a lot more than just treatment and treatment [adverse] effects. It might be the need for additional support. Can you imagine being diagnosed with a terminal disease? It’s definitely hard on anybody’s psychological well-being, so, it’s very important that they have a care team that listens and hears them and understands what they need both physically, from a treatment standpoint, and mentally.
All those things really come together, and our role is to share what the latest information is. It’s not to say, “You need to do this particular treatment,” or “If you’re progressing, you need to bridge to this treatment.” Our role is to say, “These are the options that are available to you, and they should be discussed in detail with your care team [so] you can make the best choice with your oncologist.” We always say the best patient is the educated patient. When we say that, [it] means just know your disease, know what your subtype is, know what’s available out there, and help guide your care team to the best possible solution for you.
Transcript edited for clarity.
Trastuzumab Biosimilar Gets Go Ahead in EU for HER2+ Breast and Metastatic Gastric Cancers
December 5th 2023EG12014, a biosimilar of the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, has received a marketing authorization from the European Commission for use in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive (HER2+) breast and metastatic gastric cancer; these are the same indications that trastuzumab holds in the European Union.
Read More
Emily Goldberg Shares Insights as a Genetic Counselor for Breast Cancer Risk Screening
October 30th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Emily Goldberg, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor at JScreen, breaks down how genetic screening for breast cancer works and why it is so important to increase awareness and education around these screening tools available to patients who may be at risk for cancer.
Listen
The FDA has approved capivasertib plus fulvestrant for the treatment of patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer harboring 1 or more PIK3CA, AKT1, or PTEN alteration, following progression on at least 1 endocrine-based regimen in the metastatic setting or recurrence on or within 12 months of completing adjuvant therapy.
Read More
The Disproportionate Impact of the Pandemic on Health Care Disparities and Cancer
February 22nd 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we discuss how already wide health care inequities in cancer are becoming much worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with guest Monica Soni, MD, associate chief medical officer at New Century Health.
Listen