Tag Archive for: skin cancer specialist

What Are the Advantages of Seeing a Specialist for Skin Cancer?

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What Are the Advantages of Seeing a Specialist for Skin Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are the advantages of seeing a skin cancer specialist? Dr. Anna Pavlick highlights how specialists offer expertise in managing complex cases, like large lesions or tumors with associated lymph nodes, ensuring up-to-date treatment and collaborative care with local physicians.

Dr. Anna Pavlick is a medical oncologist and the founding Director of the Cutaneous Oncology Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. Learn more about Dr. Pavlick.

See More from Evolve Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

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Transcript:

Katherine:

What is the advantage of someone seeking care or to have an appointment with the skin cancer specialist?  

Dr. Pavlick:

Although for me, skin cancer is my life, skin cancers to the point where they require a medical oncologist are not all that common. Basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer are very, very common in our population, but many times, they are managed by the dermatologist where you have an excision or you have a Mohs procedure. You don’t ever need to see an oncologist. However, if you have a very large lesion or you’ve got a lesion and you’ve got an associated lymph node or you’ve got a lesion that has what we call satellites or little tiny, I call them cousin tumors surrounding the primary lesion, you’re going to get referred to a medical oncologist.  

And many oncologists in the general community may or may not be very familiar with the up-to-date management because it’s not very common. The common cancers out there are breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer. And general oncologists are very well-versed in how to manage those. I tell most patients you may not need to come to a big skin cancer referral center, but it may benefit you to come for an opinion and have a skin cancer oncologist work with your local doctor.  

And I do this all the time. Folks will come in and say, “You’re in New York City, but I live out in New Jersey. And coming into the city is just such a hardship. Is there any way I can do this outside?” And many times, my answer is if you’re not going to be participating in a clinical trial which is being run at my institution, I am more than happy to talk to your oncologist and work with them.

And it’s a collaboration. Many of us in academia are not looking to steal patients. We’re just looking to provide patients with the highest quality standard of care and are very, very happy to work with anybody that will provide that care to the patient to make sure that the patient can also get that care in a non-stressful setting.  

Should Advanced Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Patients See a Specialist?

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Should Advanced Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Patients See a Specialist? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Do advanced non-melanoma skin cancer patients need to see a specialist? Dr. Sunandana Chandra explains the benefits of working with a specialist, how she empowers patients, and when she recommends seeking a second opinion.

Dr. Sunandana Chandra is a medical oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Learn more about Dr. Chandra.

Katherine:  

Why is it important that patients speak up and have a voice in their care? 

Dr. Chandra:  

Well, I think for person to feel empowered, they have to understand their cancer, in my opinion. 

And that’s part of my responsibility is to try to share what I know about their cancer, my medical and clinical experience dealing with that type of cancer, and really, to try to empower them by giving them knowledge about their cancer, about their diagnosis, about the prognosis, about potential treatment options. And, I really think that that knowledge is really empowering for our patients and their family members, and I think with that knowledge, they can make the most informed decision, and they can help us then figure out what the best management plan for them is. You know, I try to spend a considerable amount of time with my patients and their family members and loved ones to explain all of this at the get-go so that that way, oftentimes, they can go home, they can kind of think about it, come back with more questions. 

Or, if they do some additional research on their own, hopefully some of what I’ve talked about might resonate and might even spur on more questions that usually can be very helpful for us to try to answer, helpful for the patient, I mean. 

Katherine:

Absolutely. Should patients consider seeing an advanced non-melanoma skin cancer specialist? 

Dr. Chandra:

You know, for a “routine” non-melanoma skin cancer of which the most common are basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, they may be tiny spots, maybe one, potentially multiple, that can just be excised and the person can be followed closely. For them, perhaps seeing someone locally, maybe very reasonable.   

But, if the patient themselves is ever worried or unsure, or they feel like they want to see a specialist, I absolutely would encourage that. In addition, for a person who has recurrent non-melanoma skin cancers, you know, multiple occurrences, maybe even more advanced than others, I think that those particular patients going to a specialist or a number of specialists may really help with the most advanced care. Maybe it’ll allow the patient and their team to be more proactive, maybe allow for other options that are maybe not standards of care, maybe novel, but promising.  

And so, I think for patients who are worried or for patients with more high-risk features, more increased number of skin cancers, perhaps more advanced skin cancers, I think having an expert or a team of experts on their team is certainly worth considering. 

Katherine:

What is your advice for patients who may feel like they’re hurting your feelings by seeking a specialist or a second opinion? Any advice for self-advocacy? 

Dr. Chandra:

Oh, gosh. I mean, I always tell our patients I strongly encourage it if they bring up especially. You know, I never want to patient of mine or their family members to look back and have any regrets. And so, from the get-go, I think that they should seek opinions. They should feel comfortable with the management that I or someone else is recommending to them.  

And, if a person asks me if it’s okay if they seek an opinion, I’m actually very encouraging of it because it doesn’t hurt my feelings. In fact, I think, again, it empowers the patient, which at the end of the day I think is most important and allows, hopefully, for them to have no regrets. And, I always tell patients more heads are better than one. So, if a colleague has another idea that perhaps I didn’t think of or vice versa, having that discussion and ultimately, that may allow for better patient care, which I think is all of our goals, which is actually our ultimate goal, I should say.