Editorials by Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD

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

On Oct. 25, 2016, HemOnc Today published an editorial titled “Animal Farm, 1984 and The Hunger Games,” which warned members of the electorate to be thoughtful about their imminent decisions and predicted a time of dystopia, contingent on the outcome.

Each month, John Sweetenham, MD, and I review a stack of reports from conferences and the international literature for reporting in HemOnc Today.

Imagine my surprise when I opened Science last month and was reminded that “Sting” is no longer the sole province of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE — songwriter, singer and bass player extraordinaire, who helped take The Police to fame and fortune with such standards as “Roxanne” and “Walking on the Moon” back in the 20th century.

Published earlier this month in The New England Journal of Medicine is yet another well-conducted study that demonstrates lack of efficacy of hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19.

These are times when, under assault from the COVID-19 pandemic and many parts of government, those of us who are relatively powerless can seek to regain control by influencing what we can influence.

Everyone knows that these are tough times, and those of us in health care are constantly trying to figure out how to deal with COVID-19.

I have been a physician since 1974, and I have always believed in what I do — and I still do.

I’m still processing the fact that I won’t get to spend time with Clara Derber Bloomfield, MD, again.

I was delighted to see the Cancer Statistics 2020 report from American Cancer Society, indicating a decline of cancer death rates in the 2016 to 2017 time frame (see related article).