Seeing Hope for Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Medpage Today published an interview with  Dr. Carey Anders of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  Dr. Anders has written a great deal about triple negative breast cancer.  In this piece, she talks about targeted therapies for TNBC and her hope for the future of treatment for metastatic breast cancer.  My favorite part of the interview comes at the end, when she talks about being an oncologist and how she sees her relationship with her patients: 

I'm always struck when people outside of the hospital or even within the hospital find out that I'm an oncologist. They kind of get a sad look on their face and say, "Oh, that must be so hard," and I promptly reply that it's a very positive profession. On most days -- of course, we have our sad days -- but on most days it's a very hopeful profession and a happy profession. We have such wonderful relationships with our patients and families and are working with them in a very poignant time in their life.

I'm very enthusiastic about what we have on the horizon in breast cancer. We're learning so much more in the laboratory about what makes the cancer cells work. And over time that will translate to targeted therapies with the goal of really helping prolong survival, but not making patients experience the side effects in the process. So I'm very enthusiastic.

You can read the transcript or watch the video at Medpage Today.