I attended a video conference tumor board today as a guest observer.

If you don’t know what a tumor board is, it is an interdisciplinary team of professionals that can include oncologists, geneticists, and others such as pharmacists, nurses, genetic counselors, bioinformaticists, and anyone else who can help by providing their professional expertise.

Tumor boards systematically examine cancer patient histories, current clinical test results, and any other relevant information. As a team, they come together to propose the optimal treatment and support for patients based on the latest scientific information.

These are consummate professionals who are dedicated to understanding each patient’s unique situation and work together to provide the best care possible with the best outcomes combining their respective areas of expertise. It’s amazing to see such communication and cooperation. That’s not hyperbole, it’s the truth.

I understood all the underlying science since that is what I’ve been involved with for so many years in laboratory research, and it’s now what I teach, Not being an oncologist myself there were some learning opportunities for me on some of the clinical details. I am an information sponge, though, so I’m delving deeper into the clinical literature to make sure I understand anything that wasn’t completely clear to me.

Despite some people’s uninformed cynicism, we have thousands of dedicated professionals working together both on the scientific front and the clinical front in synergy to cure each person’s cancer if possible, prolong quality life, and at least minimize suffering. And along the way, gathering all of our understanding towards finding a way to cure as many cancers as possible.

It’s an honor to be involved in this continuing endeavor with so much promise and progress, and even more, to have students who want to participate in this amazing transformation of medicine into the 21st century.