[Seeking colleagues' advice when facing complex clinical situations].
Fiche publication
Date publication
août 2020
Journal
Cancer radiotherapie : journal de la Societe francaise de radiotherapie oncologique
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr PEIFFERT Didier, Pr TRUC Gilles
Tous les auteurs :
Blanchard P, Peiffert D, Truc G
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
Seeking a second medical advice as a medical practitioner is a frequent situation that should be facilitated to best suit patients' expectations, while maintaining medical confidentiality. The patient and his relatives need to be involved with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The radiation oncologist should accept and help a patient who seeks a second advice, and patients will always appreciate when the physician helps them to seek such an advice. Examples that each practitioner should know include tertiary centers tumor boards, centers with access to innovation or clinical research, or with special teams to take care of specific populations such as adolescents and young adults. In some situations, no treatment can also be the best treatment, and it takes time to explain and discuss such watchful waiting strategies to patients. In case of recurrent disease after radiotherapy, salvage reirradiation must be discussed at a tertiary tumor board and weighed against other options, especially for rare and complex cases. Radiation oncology has gained multiple options with technological advances, such as proton therapy, brachytherapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy with respiratory tracking or contact therapy. Radiation oncologists must know the benefits associated with each option in terms of survival, local control or organ preservation in order to address patients to the best practitioner.
Mots clés
Cancer, Healthcare system, Interdisciplinarité, Organisation, Pluridisciplinarity, Recours
Référence
Cancer Radiother. 2020 Aug 19;: