West Wind (audio)

Dr. Mark Lewis and host Jack West reflect on the personal decisions involved with having children with the uncertainty of a familial cancer syndrome, as well as the power of connectivity through medical discussions on social media.

Dr Jack West & guest Mark Lewis discuss the evolution of his cancer as his care evolves from watchful waiting to a decision to pursue a Whipple procedure, the challenges of recovery, & his approach to discussing his own experiences with his patients.

Dr. Mark Lewis and host Jack West trace back from his father's surprise diagnosis of cancer to his own path into medicine, ultimately his self-diagnosis with a familial genetic syndrome.

Dr. Greg Riely from MSKCC and Dr. Jack West review the changing role for plasma NGS and local ablation therapy (LAT) for oligometastic disease (OMD) or oligoprogressing advanced NSCLC in clinical practice.

Dr. Greg Riely from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) chats with Dr. Jack West about current standards in molecular testing for advanced NSCLC & potential challenges in execution in translating the promise of genomics into broad practice.

Dr. Jack West & pulmonary pathologist Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, MD from the Cleveland Clinic discuss changing workflows in pathology introduced by artificial intelligence, telemedicine, & new digital platforms for education & support.

Dr. Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, pathologist at Cleveland Clinic, speaks with Dr. Jack West about the strong pathology community on Twitter and how social media are providing new opportunities to share information and create broader medical communities.

Dr. Bishal Gyawali and Dr. Jack West discuss the concept of a "cancer ground-shot," challenges to enforce common sense in oncology, and questions about low standards for FDA approvals that may not truly improve outcomes for patients with cancer.

Dr. Bishal Gyawali speaks with Dr. West about his trajectory from medical trainee in Nepal to an international authority on evidence-based cancer care, how his path has shaped his professional priorities, & how social media has provided new opportunities.

Dr. Charu Aggarwal discusses with Dr. West how she and her colleagues at Univ. of Pennsylvania can develop their own careers alongside each other, #medTwitter, how she navigates work-life balance, & the improving support for women in heme/onc.

Dr. West & Charu Aggarwal from University of Pennsylvania reviews data from her own group & other centers, demonstrating increasing practical utility & remaining limitations of liquid biopsy testing for molecular markers in advanced NSCLC.

Dr. Jack West reviews why the new FDA approval of first line pembrolizumab monotherapy for the 1-49% PD-L1 subgroup won on a technicality and now offers a clearly inferior choice compared to far better existing standards for patients with low tumor PD-L1.

Drs. Jed Gorden and Jack West reflect on the evolving field of interventional pulmonology and their role not only in performing biopsies but also in longitudinally managing pleural effusions and pulmonary complications in patients with lung cancer.

Dr. Jed Gorden speaks with Dr. Jack West, reviewing the obstacles limiting broader adoption of lung cancer screening in practice and how novel approaches are needed to reach areas outside of tertiary care hospitals.

Drs. Jack West & Corey Langer debate the criteria for adopting early clinical data as practice-changing as immunotherapy trials in locally advanced & metastatic NSCLC are reported.

Dr. Jack West & Sweden-based Dr. Gil Morgan discuss disparities in access & overall quality of cancer care, challenges in smoking cessation efforts, & the limited impact of lung cancer screening internationally.

Dr. Jack West & Sweden-based Dr. Gil Morgan reflect on how social media are forging new conversations & educational opportunities for the global oncology community, as well as the marked differences in cancer care & medical practice in the US vs. Sweden.

Drs. Jack West & Giorgio Scagliotti discuss the rapid evolution of lung cancer management as well as the practical bottlenecks & challenges limiting the quality of lung cancer care globally.

Drs. Jack West & Alex Drilon, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, discuss opportunities & challenges of studying narrow molecularly-defined patient subgroups, (MET, RET, TRK, & others), along with the increasingly active role of online patient groups.

Dr. Jack West & guests, Drs. Christine Hann from Johns Hopkins & Stephen Liu from Georgetown, review recent potentially practice-changing results in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) & consider the challenges & future prospects for the SCLC landscape.