West Wind (Audio): Recent Episodes
Howard (Jack) West, MD
Dr. Jack West and a wide range of guests reflect on new developments and evolving issues in cancer care, the emerging role of new technologies in medicine, and health care policy issues. Feedback and suggestions are welcomed at WestWindPodcast@BeaconMedIC.com.
Host Dr. Jack West speaks with Sarah Mojarad, communications expert training scientists and medical students in how to integrate social media and build an online brand to extend the reach of their work while maintaining professionalism.
Dr. Jack West, medical oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Center, considers how the risks & new medical landscape borne of COVID-19 is streamlining cancer care in some constructive ways and bringing overdue advances to how we run clinics & meetings.
Dr. Christian Rolfo, now at University of Maryland after training in Argentina, Italy, & other parts of Europe, speaks with Dr. West about his focus on phase I clinical trials & liquid biopsies, and having close connections with people around the world.
Host Jack West speaks with Dr. Nate Pennell of Cleveland Clinic about his path into thoracic oncology, the role of social media, & uncertainty about larger medical conferences & a growing place for virtual learning in the wake of a COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Charu Aggarwal from University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center joins Dr. Jack West to discuss new data on plasma-based testing for tumor mutational burden (TMB) & the current state of liquid biopsies, TMB, & immunotherapy-based options today.
Dr. Jarushka Naidoo, medical oncologist at Johns Hopkins, speaks with host Jack West about her path from childhood TV star in South Africa, to medical training and stage acting in Dublin, to US-based expert on toxicities of cancer immunotherapy.
Host Jack West reviews the gulf between the best evidence-based cancer care guidelines & performance in broad clinical practice, exploring contributing factors & potential new models to improve US-based molecular oncology practice.
Dr. Alfredo Addeo, Sr Oncology Consultant at Geneva University Hospital, chats with Dr. Jack West about his path of growing up in Italy, moving to the UK, then Switzerland, & his adventures practicing medicine in different cultures & health care systems.
Host Jack West traces the remarkable path of Dr. Brandon Mahal from disadvantaged childhood immersed in gang culture to UCLA, then Harvard Medical School, training in radiation oncology, & a promising career focused on cancer care disparities.
Host Jack West chats with Dr. Marina Garassino, lung cancer specialist in Milan, about how she developed her interest in lung cancer and clinical research as a single mother of two daughters, as well as how she prioritizes mentorship of women trainees.
Dr. Petros Grivas, genitourinary (GU) cancer expert at the Univ of Washington/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, describes his path from Greece to the US, his compulsion to deliver, & the challenge of deciding when to stay vs. move on for new opportunities.
Host Dr. Jack West chats with Dr. Nina Niu Sanford, radiation oncologist at UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX, about her efforts to weave her commitments to her young family into her efforts to define her clinical & research trajectory.
Dr. Nina Niu Sanford, radiation oncologist at UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX, speaks with host Jack West about moving from China in childhood, being raised in Boston, & the path into radiation oncology.
Host Dr. Jack West chats with Dr. Stacy Gray, expert in molecular testing patterns and attitudes, about current hurdles in broad adoption of comprehensive testing in cancer care, as well as ways to overcome them.
Dr. Stacy Gray from City of Hope Cancer Center speaks to host Jack West about the evolution of her career focus on adoption of and attitudes about molecular testing, including an early interest in direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing.
Dr. Jack West speaks with London-based thoracic oncology expert Dr. Sanjay Popat about delivering the best molecular testing & cancer care possible in a nationalized system limited by cost concerns, & looming uncertainties around Brexit.
Dr. Sanjay Popat from London, UK chats with host Jack West about his background growing up in London, medical and oncology training in the UK, and how he entered into thoracic oncology as a career focus.
Host Dr. Jack West speaks with Dr. Fumiko Chino, radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and caregiver to a young spouse who died of cancer, about the under-appreciated but severe and shame-inducing impact of cost and financial toxicity among families of patients with cancer.
Dr. Fumiko Chino, radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, describes to host Jack West the impact of a mother as a successful radiation oncologist, & the many struggles of serving as a caregiver to a young adult spouse with cancer.
Dr. Taofeek Owonikoko of Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University speaks with Dr. Jack West about his decision to retrain in oncology, the draw he felt to thoracic oncology and small cell lung cancer, & a few cultural challenges he felt along the way.
Host Jack West speaks with Dr. Taofeek Owonikoko of Emory University, who traces his childhood & medical training in Nigeria as a pathologist, followed by a move to Düsseldorf, Germany before settling in the US & re-training in oncology.
Dr. Jack West chats with breast cancer specialist & ASCO Annual Meeting Education Committee chair Dr. Tatiana Prowell about how she engages oncologists & patients alike through live teaching, longitudinal mentoring, & social media.
Dr. Tatiana Prowell of Johns Hopkins & US FDA speaks with host Dr. Jack West about how she came to focus on breast cancer, her path to working at FDA, & how her clinical practice & research complement her regulatory work & vice versa.
Dr. Tatiana Prowell, breast cancer specialist at Johns Hopkins Univ/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center & the US FDA, traces her meandering path into medicine & discusses the struggle to choose what to say no to when balancing career & personal life commitments.
Thoracic surgeon Brendon Stiles, MD, speaks with host Jack West about alternatives to open surgery for smaller lung cancers, which patients with locally advanced NSCLC should undergo surgery, and whether we should aim to "downstage" patients with marginally resectable or unresectable lung cancer.
Host Jack West speaks with cardiothoracic surgeon Brendon Stiles, MD, who describes his path from being raised on a farm in rural VA to cancer research and surgery in NYC, & how debating medicine outside of your echo chamber raises everyone's game.
Dr. Jean-Charles Soria reviews the challenge in academic research of "champagne dreams on a beer budget", his decision to pursue a research leadership role at AZ, & shares his vision of a future of molecular oncology & a growing role for liquid biopsies.
Jean-Charles Soria, MD, PhD, Senior VP of R&D Oncology at AZ, traces his path from Bolivia to France to the US & how he was influenced by his sister's struggle with ALL to enter medicine & oncology, as well as the humbling impact of his own son's illness.
Dr. Benjamin Besse, Head of Medical Oncology at Institut Gustave Roussy, reviews his path into oncology & describes how strong national programs & a collaborative oncology community conduct translational research together across France.
Dr. Reshma Jagsi, radiation oncologist at University of Michigan, discusses her work on gender equity and disparities in medicine along with the challenges in overcoming them with host Dr. Jack West.
Dr. Reshma Jagsi, radiation oncologist at University of Michigan, speaks with Dr. Jack West about her parents settling in Texas, her childhood, her move to Harvard to study government, & shaping her career & personal life priorities.
Dr. Ben Solomon, thoracic oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, recounts unique aspects of cancer care in Australia & his circuitous path from Sri Lanka to Zambia and Colorado before settling in Australia.
Host Jack West speaks with Dr. Yuman Fong, surgical oncologist at City of Hope, about a multidisciplinary approach to metastatic cancer that includes local therapies to improve survival & potentially cure selected patients with colon & other cancers.
Dr. Yuman Fong, surgical oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Center, recounts how he defined career goals, the experience of raising 3 daughters in NYC with a wife who is a successful lawyer, & his efforts to balance his work with personal commitments.
Dr. Tony Mok of the Chinese University of Hong Kong reflects with host Dr. Jack West on his circuitous career path that led him back to Hong Kong after training in Edmonton & Toronto, as well as the exciting career opportunities he has cultivated.
Lung cancer advocates Ivy Elkins and Jill Feldman talk with Dr. West about the role of cancer patient advocates working with researchers, attending professional conferences, as well as how different cultures manage a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.
Lung cancer advocates Jill Feldman and Ivy Elkins discuss the value in terms of both needed support & information sharing from fellow patients, whether in direct local contact or via online connections, & value of the EGFR Resisters group.
Lung cancer patient advocates Ivy Elkins & Jill Feldman reflect with host Dr. Jack West on the difficulties of facing a new diagnosis of lung cancer, navigating the work-up, developing a treatment plan, & connecting with fellow patients.
Host Jack West chats with Dr. Narjust Duma about her activity on social media, her Latinas in Medicine initiative, her work on gender equity, and the connections she has forged through the Women in Hematology & Oncology Facebook group.
Dr. Narjust Duma recounts her childhood and early education in South America & Central America, followed by her transition to additional training in the US, including fellowship at Mayo Clinic and a new faculty position at the University of Wisconsin.
Dr. West asks Dr. Cathy Eng, Co-Director of GI Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, about several debated questions in management in GI oncology, ranging from liver resections in colorectal cancer to HIPEC to optimal aggressive chemo regimens.
Dr. Cathy Eng, GI oncologist at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses growing up as a rare Asian child in Phoenix, her path into MD Anderson & then Vanderbilt, her dedication to running and now kickboxing, & rising in her field as a woman.
Lung cancer advocate Chris Draft & cancer survival Tabitha Paccione speak with host Jack West about the momentum & energy of the lung cancer community, both online and in real life, along with the remaining challenges to maintaining momentum.
Dr. Jack West speaks with NFL player & lung cancer activist Chris Draft, as well as lung cancer survivor Tabitha Paccione, about the devastating experience of facing a new, unexpected diagnosis of lung cancer, then building a team & moving forward.
Host Jack West & Dr. Mimi Knoll explore the ways in which she uses both social media & other media channels to reach a professional and lay public audience to address tough questions of gender equity & work-life balance as a physician leader.
Radiation oncologist Miriam Knoll traces her family’s history in medicine, raised by two physicians and living in a household that also served as a medical clinic, while also describing the experience of having children early in her career path.
Dr. Jack West & Dr. David Palma, expert radiation oncologist in London, Ontario, discuss challenges in delivering radiation in Canada as well debates in radiation oncology care ranging from proton beam radiation to SBRT for oligometastatic NSCLC.
Dr. David Palma, radiation oncologist, traces his path into the field by way of Vancouver and Amsterdam, while touching on his becoming a triathlete and bestselling author of a book for the lay public, Taking Charge of Cancer.
Dr. Gilberto Lopes, medical oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, chats with host Dr. Jack West about the growth of global oncology as a field, new training programs, and his role as Editor-in-Chief of ASCO’s Journal of Global Oncology.
Dr. Gilberto Lopes from U Miami Sylvester Comprehensive School of Medicine recounts his path from childhood & education in Brazil to training in Miami, then Singapore, back to Brazil, & his return to Univ of Miami to develop a new global oncology program.
Dr. Anne Tsao reviews her early pivot from engineering to medicine, her commitment to oncology and path to training at and then forging her career development at MD Anderson Cancer Center, & the emerging research in malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Drs. Ishwaria & Vivek Subbiah of MD Anderson Cancer Center review the challenges of weaving supportive care & symptom management with emerging targeted therapies & other novel treatments to blend into optimal cancer care.
Dr. West speaks with Drs. Ishwaria & Vivek Subbiah from MD Anderson about their development to focus on supportive care & investigational therapies in cancer, respectively, & how they came together as a married couple living & working together.
Dr. Timothy Gilligan and host Jack West discuss ASCO's guidelines for patient communications and Dr. Gilligan's efforts to train oncologists on effective communication with patients.
Host Jack West, MD speaks with Timothy Gilligan, MD, FASCO from Cleveland Clinic, reviewing his path into medicine & genitourinary oncology, then discussing new challenges in testicular, bladder, and prostate cancer management.
Host Dr. Jack West speaks with Dr. Luis Raez about his training in Peru, his move to Miami, and his longstanding commitment to education and leadership, especially within Florida and the Latin American medical communities.
Dr. Jack West & guest Dr. Jerad Gardner, Assoc. Professor in Pathology at Univ of Arkansas, discuss his new opportunities to conduct research in partnership with online patient groups, as well as how artificial intelligence is poised to change pathology.
Pathologist Jerad Gardner & host Jack West speak about what led him down his career path into pathology and how he has helped create educational content & develop a vibrant community of pathologists & other physicians on multiple social media platforms.
Drs. Hossein Borghaei and host Jack West discuss long term outcomes in lung cancer with immunotherapy, potential utility of IO combinations, and when we can consider patients doing well on immunotherapy as cured if doing well beyond 5 years.
Dr. Hossein Borghaei sits with Dr. Jack West and traces his difficult journey from war-torn Iran to Germary and then the US, which he made alone as a 16 year-old before having the opportunity to pursue medicine & his career in thoracic oncology.
Dr. West questions Dr. Gideon Blumenthal of the FDA about how he and his team there struggle to provide timely access to emerging cancer treatments, while also debating questions of the proper thresholds for efficacy and safety.
Drs. Gideon Blumenthal & Jack West discuss his early career interests and trajectory from medical oncology training at the NIH to joining the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate oncology drugs.
Dr. Jack West provides a brief summary of key findings & limitations of two new papers just out in JAMA Oncology (Theelen et al & Bauml et al.) that evaluate the potential benefit of preceding immunotherapy with radiation in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Dr. Jack West speaks with Dr. Sandip Patel about how molecular oncology has changed outcomes in cancer care, but also how we face great difficulty in getting the knowledge & practice patterns out to communities.
Drs. Sandip Patel & host Jack West track his early interest in medicine and even oncology & the importance of good communication & value of effective use of language when working with patients with cancer.
Dr. West speaks with Dr. Suzanne Dahlberg about her path into biostatistics, leadership in shaping trials with ECOG & Dana Farber Cancer Institute, & changing endpoints & trial designs in an era of molecular oncology.
Host Dr. Jack West questions Dr.. Puneeth Iyengar, radiation oncologist at UT-Southwestern, about proton beam radiation therapy, risks & benefits of cranial irradiation, & local ablative therapy for local consolidation therapy for oligometastatic disease.
Dr. Puneeth Iyengar talks with Dr. Jack West about growing up Indian in Louisiana, his training path from Boston to New York before returning to Texas, his entry into radiation oncology, & how the field is adapting to changes in cancer care.
Dr. Jack West speaks with Dr. Esther Choo, academic ER specialist at OHSU in Portland, about her commitment to gender equity in medicine, gender & racial disparities, social & mass media outreach, & her leadership in the Times Up Healthcare movement.
Dr. Esther Choo, ER Physician at OHSU in Portland, speaks with Dr. Jack West about being an outsider growing up, as well as her path into medicine & interest in emergency medicine, where care intersects with broad social issues.
Drs. William Dale & Jack West, both from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, reflect on the challenges of having patients & fellow health care professionals welcome integration of supportive care alongside aggressive anti-cancer treatments.
Dr. William Dale from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center discusses with host Jack West how he became interested in supportive care & geriatric oncology, as well as societal biases in treating older patients.
Dr. Chadi Nabhan & host Jack West consider the challenge of pruning career activities after struggling to define priorities & say no to opportunities; Dr. Nabhan reviews the value of real world evidence in evaluating cancer treatments.
Dr. Chadi Nabhan speaks with host Jack West & reviews his circuitous course from medical training in Syria to lymphoma specialist & rising administrator in Chicago to his decision to pursue an MBA, leading him into a world of the business of health care.
Lecia Sequist, MD, MPH of Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School debriefs with host Dr. Jack West about key ASCO 2019 findings in EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC & her campaign for the IASLC Board of Directors.
Lecia Sequist, MD, MPH of Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School speaks with Dr. Jack West about the trajectory of her early career and focusing on both the science of medicine & practical concerns while speaking out on social media.
Dr. Sumanta (Monty) Pal of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center describes his precocious entry into medicine, the tremendous opportunities it has afforded him in ASCO leadership and GU oncology, his commitment to mentorship, & his work/life balance.
Drs. Heather Wakelee and Jack West review how she entered & became a leader in thoracic oncology, her prioritization of mentorship, & her efforts to continue the strong momentum of the International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
Dr. West speaks with Dr. Ross Camidge about the experience of contributing to the NCCN guidelines, developing the ATOMIC network as a novel platform for lung cancer research, & the increasing importance of online patient molecularly defined groups.
Dr. Ross Camidge from the University of Colorado discusses his career trajectory, how cancer research in narrow molecularly defined populations has evolved, challenges in molecular oncology practice, & the brain as a new frontier for treatment efficacy.
Dr. Mark Lewis and host Jack West reflect on the personal decisions involved with having children with the uncertainty of a familial cancer syndrome, as well as the power of connectivity through medical discussions on social media.
Dr Jack West & guest Mark Lewis discuss the evolution of his cancer as his care evolves from watchful waiting to a decision to pursue a Whipple procedure, the challenges of recovery, & his approach to discussing his own experiences with his patients.
Dr. Mark Lewis and host Jack West trace back from his father's surprise diagnosis of cancer to his own path into medicine, ultimately his self-diagnosis with a familial genetic syndrome.
Dr. Greg Riely from MSKCC and Dr. Jack West review the changing role for plasma NGS and local ablation therapy (LAT) for oligometastic disease (OMD) or oligoprogressing advanced NSCLC in clinical practice.
Dr. Greg Riely from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) chats with Dr. Jack West about current standards in molecular testing for advanced NSCLC & potential challenges in execution in translating the promise of genomics into broad practice.
Dr. Jack West & pulmonary pathologist Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, MD from the Cleveland Clinic discuss changing workflows in pathology introduced by artificial intelligence, telemedicine, & new digital platforms for education & support.
Dr. Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, pathologist at Cleveland Clinic, speaks with Dr. Jack West about the strong pathology community on Twitter and how social media are providing new opportunities to share information and create broader medical communities.
Dr. Bishal Gyawali and Dr. Jack West discuss the concept of a "cancer ground-shot," challenges to enforce common sense in oncology, and questions about low standards for FDA approvals that may not truly improve outcomes for patients with cancer.
Dr. Bishal Gyawali speaks with Dr. West about his trajectory from medical trainee in Nepal to an international authority on evidence-based cancer care, how his path has shaped his professional priorities, & how social media has provided new opportunities.
Dr. Charu Aggarwal discusses with Dr. West how she and her colleagues at Univ. of Pennsylvania can develop their own careers alongside each other, #medTwitter, how she navigates work-life balance, & the improving support for women in heme/onc.
Dr. West & Charu Aggarwal from University of Pennsylvania reviews data from her own group & other centers, demonstrating increasing practical utility & remaining limitations of liquid biopsy testing for molecular markers in advanced NSCLC.
Dr. Jack West reviews why the new FDA approval of first line pembrolizumab monotherapy for the 1-49% PD-L1 subgroup won on a technicality and now offers a clearly inferior choice compared to far better existing standards for patients with low tumor PD-L1.
Drs. Jed Gorden and Jack West reflect on the evolving field of interventional pulmonology and their role not only in performing biopsies but also in longitudinally managing pleural effusions and pulmonary complications in patients with lung cancer.
Dr. Jed Gorden speaks with Dr. Jack West, reviewing the obstacles limiting broader adoption of lung cancer screening in practice and how novel approaches are needed to reach areas outside of tertiary care hospitals.
Drs. Jack West & Corey Langer debate the criteria for adopting early clinical data as practice-changing as immunotherapy trials in locally advanced & metastatic NSCLC are reported.
Dr. Jack West & Sweden-based Dr. Gil Morgan discuss disparities in access & overall quality of cancer care, challenges in smoking cessation efforts, & the limited impact of lung cancer screening internationally.
Dr. Jack West & Sweden-based Dr. Gil Morgan reflect on how social media are forging new conversations & educational opportunities for the global oncology community, as well as the marked differences in cancer care & medical practice in the US vs. Sweden.
Drs. Jack West & Giorgio Scagliotti discuss the rapid evolution of lung cancer management as well as the practical bottlenecks & challenges limiting the quality of lung cancer care globally.
Drs. Jack West & Alex Drilon, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, discuss opportunities & challenges of studying narrow molecularly-defined patient subgroups, (MET, RET, TRK, & others), along with the increasingly active role of online patient groups.
Dr. Jack West & guests, Drs. Christine Hann from Johns Hopkins & Stephen Liu from Georgetown, review recent potentially practice-changing results in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) & consider the challenges & future prospects for the SCLC landscape.