VIDEO: Better health literacy needed for myeloma

Editor’s note: This is a previously posted video, and the below is an automatically generated transcript to be used for informational purposes. Please notify editor@healio.com if there are concerns regarding accuracy of the transcription.

Well, I think there's two challenges there. I mean, one of the things that we need to do better throughout this country is promote better health literacy, because I think when we talk to patients, the danger is that we can become so immersed in talking about technologies that we can talk about them in ways that aren't engaging for patients and families. Part of the solution to this is that we need to do a better job of reaching out to communities throughout our industry, especially underserved communities, and helping to provide them with information that enhances their ability to understand what their options are. For patients when you talk about technologies like CAR T-cells, like when we've talked about transplant with patients 10 years ago, 20 years ago, when we talked to a patient about transplant for condition, they might ask if that was their last ditch treatment or their last hope. And in fact, when you look at something that's so novel, like a CAR T-cell, for patients and families that may be hard to relate to. In some ways, chemotherapy and radiation therapy and even surgery may be relatable because in the popular culture people have thought about those things historically in speaking to family members or friends or colleagues with cancer. I think the challenge is that the novelty of this can be confusing to patients and families. So part of what I enjoy about working at City of Hope is that we have a cadre of resources, both healthcare professionals and clinicians who are well-versed in speaking to patients and families about this, but also a surrounding level of support ranging from those who are involved in delivering clinical trials related to CAR T-cells to others who can help educate patients and families so as to demystify the experience. But I think unless you invest in doing this well and creating an ecosystem that helps patients and families to understand this, it can be profoundly mystifying.