John Sweetenham, MD, FRCP, FACP

Since 2014, when we took the helm of HemOnc Today as joint Chief Medical Editors, the overall progress in oncology has been spectacular.

Those of you who read last month’s editorial by Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, are aware that he and I will be stepping down from our roles as Chief Medical Editors of HemOnc Today at the end of this month.

It is well-documented that cancer care in the U.S. is facing an impending workforce crisis.

In more than 6 years as a chief medical editor for HemOnc Today, only a few subjects have prompted me to write more than one editorial.

My wife and I are just completing a 1-week vacation/road trip, which included a visit to our sons and another opportunity to see our now almost 11-month-old grandson. It’s a real joy to see him thriving and developing so quickly.

Among the lessons we are learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps one of the most significant has been the degree to which we have had to adjust to a less intensive, more hands-off approach to taking care of our patients.

At our center, metrics obtained through our participation in CMS’s Oncology Care Model have allowed us to improve patient experience scores, reduce ED utilization and hospital admission, and impact several other measures of quality care.

I’m currently browsing the abstracts for the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program, which — of course — will be over by the time this editorial is published.

I am writing this on March 18, as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic begins to hit home.

I am currently reading a fascinating book — The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World, by Simon Winchester.