Distinguishing AML Symptoms and Side Effects | Why Communication Is Essential
How can patients determine if they are experiencing AML symptoms or side effects of treatment? AML expert Dr. Eric Winer underscores the importance of open communication with the healthcare team for timely, effective care, and better outcomes.
Related Resources:
Expert Perspective | The Value of Empowering AML Patients and Care Partners |
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Transcript:
Katherine Banwell:
It may be difficult to distinguish disease symptoms from treatment side effects. What advice do you have for patients who are experiencing any issues that stem from their AML? Why is communication important?
Dr. Eric Winer:
When I speak to my patients, I say to them, your job is to tell me everything that is going on. My and my team’s job is to figure out what’s important and what’s not because that’s what we’re trained to do. I think that brings up two aspects. One is the importance of openness and honesty, because we can’t treat a problem if we don’t know there is a problem. We have a plethora of drugs that we can use for different symptoms, but if we don’t know the symptoms, we can’t treat them. A perfect example is if somebody is nauseated, we can’t tell by looking at them if they’re nauseated.
We can tell when they’re vomiting and at that point, it’s too late, but if we know ahead of time they’re nauseated, then we can actually give a number of different treatments. What I say is it’s not just telling me, it’s telling people on my team as well, because it’s important to have an entire team involved in the care. So, for example, at Dana-Farber, we don’t just have a doctor-patient relationship. We have a doctor. We have a nurse practitioner. We have a physician’s assistant. We have nursing staff. We have social workers, care coordinators. It’s really a gigantic team effort, all working to try to make the best outcome and best situation for the patients.
