Cancer Doctors – Dr. Pankaj Vashi
This video features Dr. Pankaj Vashi, gastroenterologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Midwestern Regional Medical Center. Dr. Vashi recalls treating pancreatic cancer survivor Peggy Kessler with an interdisciplinary approach:
"I remember Peggy very well. She came to us in a wheelchair about five years ago. She was yellow because of jaundice. She had recently been diagnosed with pretty extensive, metastatic, widespread pancreatic cancer to the liver. She was very, very weak, and needed help to get out of bed. She was extremely sick.
When she started aggressive nutritional intervention, we noticed that she was starting to get better. She had a very dramatic response. There’s no way I could have done it alone. She got care from her oncologist, she got care from her radiation doctor, she got care from a naturopathic doctor, and she got care from pastoral care and the mind-body department. So, it was multidisciplinary treatment.
I tell many of my patients that care of a patient is like a table with four legs, and you need all four legs to keep the table up."
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