Related Resources:

Expert Perspective | The Value of Empowering AML Patients and Care Partners

AML Treatment Planning | Key Questions to Ask Your Doctor

AML Care Essentials | Health Literacy and Recommended Resources

Transcript: 

Katherine Banwell:

This interview is part of PEN’s Elevate series, which encourages patients to take an active role in their care to improve outcomes. What advice do you have for AML patients who are seeking to elevate their care?  

Dr. Eric Winer:

I think it’s important for people to be an active participant in this care. While we recognize that not everyone has medical expertise when they are going through this, it’s important that they are informed that they would like to be informed. It’s important that they have a full understanding of what’s going on in terms of the treatment, the plan, the short-term plan, and the long-term plan. 

So, there is a lot of information that needed to be digested. What’s important to note is that it doesn’t all have to be digested at that very moment at the time of diagnosis. These are processes. What I tell people is that this is not going to be your only opportunity to talk and ask questions. This is something that we’re going to be going through and doing this journey together. So, I think it’s important that they become an active participant in that journey, not just with themselves but also with whoever their caregiver is, and whoever is important to them that’s going to be going through this journey as well. 

Katherine Banwell:

I understand that some AML cases require treatment shortly after diagnosis. Is there room for a second opinion, and if so, what are the benefits? 

Dr. Eric Winer:

So, there often is room for a second opinion. There are times, quite honestly, like you said, where patients have a really acute problem when they come in, along with the diagnosis, or that the diagnosis has gotten to a point where we need to initiate therapy as an inpatient, urgently. That is becoming less common. It used to be, when I started doing this, that if you had a diagnosis of AML you were admitted to the hospital, and you stayed there until you completed your first round of therapy. That is not the case now.  

Generally, what we’ve learned is that there are studies that show you can actually delay therapy for a period of time in order to make sure that other things are established. Getting a second opinion is very important, particularly as a tertiary care center where physicians specialize in these types of diseases. And so, I think it’s very important to get expert opinions, not just in terms of how to treat the disease but also diagnostically, and to make sure the correct tests are run, the correct molecular studies are run, in order to figure out exactly what would be the best treatment for your individual version of AML.