Opinion
Video
Advice For Providers Caring for Patients With HR+/HER2- mBC
Author(s):
Virginia Kaklamani, MD, and Elizabeth Diaz, PA-C, share advice for providers managing patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.
Virginia Kaklamani, MD: So, for the last question, if you're talking to providers and those people that are caring for patients with positive or negative disease, what advice do you give them as far as treating those patients? I know that's a pretty general question, but I'm sure you can answer.
Elizabeth Diaz, PA-C: First of all, I guess it's about letting them know that, even though the disease is incurable, we should still focus on hope and improve survival with these patients while really balancing quality of life. It's essential to listen to the patient and see what's truly important to them. Some women, for instance, might not care at all about how intense the side effects might be and just want to be extremely aggressive, while others, perhaps due to different health problems or a desire to travel, may have different priorities. It's really about asking each patient and tailoring the approach. And I would also urge providers to encourage their patients to participate in clinical trials.
Virginia Kaklamani, MD: Yes, that's great advice. The most recent data from the CDK4/6 inhibitor trials are showing that patients with positive metastatic disease are now living past five years, so we are improving overall survival significantly for these patients. However, we also need to ensure that we're not compromising their quality of life. I think I don't have anything more to add compared to what you said; you said it perfectly. We need to look at overall survival and quality of life, and try to meet both goals. We should ask patients what their goals are because sometimes their goals may differ from ours, and we need to focus on their goals, not ours. We won't be able to improve survival further if we don't participate in clinical trials. That advice is absolutely perfect. Thank you. So, Elizabeth, I want to thank you for participating in today's program. I also want to thank the audience, and I hope you found this "Inside the Clinic" program informative. Thank you so much.
