For this special episode, Chadi invites John Marshall, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, and his wife Liza Marshall, a lawyer by training who was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer 15 years ago. John and Liza co-wrote a book, titled Off Our Chests, about their shared experience of overcoming her diagnosis – told from the perspective of the caregiver as well as the patient. The couple opens up about their individual experiences through treatment, how difficult it was to speak candidly about their feelings in the moment, the struggles of remaining an objective physician when a spouse is the patient, the sometimes impractical nature of shared decision-making, and a host of personal anecdotes along the way.
Visit the Off Our Chests website to order the book: https://www.offourchestsbook.com/
View Chadi’s review of the book on The Health Care Blog: https://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2021/05/27/off-our-chests-no-secrets-left-behind/
Dr. Simrit Parmar, founder of Cellenkos, joins the show to discuss her journey from the lab to the biotech startup world, detailing the inspiration behind launching her company, the challenges of securing funding, and the resilience required to overcome rejections. She shares insights into Cellenkos’ lead product, its progress toward market approval, and the rigorous
Carol Rausch—a healthcare professional, cancer researcher, and former patient with lymphoma—shares how her journey from researcher to patient transformed her understanding of medical language. She discusses the impact of word choice on patients, why certain battle and war metaphors can be harmful, and how language used in clinical settings differs from what resonates with those
Drs. David Braun and Toni Choueiri join to discuss a groundbreaking Nature study on a personalized neoantigen vaccine for adjuvant renal cell carcinoma. They explore the inspiration behind the trial, how the vaccine was developed and administered, and its safety profile. The conversation also covers patient outcomes after 3-4 years, including immune responses and disease
