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Financial Support & Assistance in Oncology

Join Dr. Vaughn as he introduces HOAF Patient Financial Advocates, Joanna and Britney, and Donna, Nurse Navigator at Mary Washington Hospital. In this episode, Dr. Vaughn and guests discuss the financial burden applicable to every cancer diagnosis, and the range of services regarding financial literacy and assistance available in various care settings. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and learn more about financial advocacy in the world of oncology.

Dr. Vaughn:

Welcome back to Cancer Shop Talk, as we are going to introduce another topic for our listeners. Today, we are going to focus on something, as physicians, we don’t always talk about with our patients, but it is very important, and that’s the cost of medical care and how it impacts their lives. And today, we’ll really focus on oncology care and the cost of treatments, and how that can affect every day of life for our patients and their families. So hopefully, today we can get a better understanding of how, as providers, we can help our patients through this difficult time, and maybe identify some resources that are available for our patients and their families.

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The Expansions of HOAF in 2023: Growing to Serve Our Community  

Join HOAF physicians, Dr. Vaughn and Dr. Menachery, as they discuss the growth and expansion of HOAF in 2023 and introduce two new physicians. Dr. Nanda and Dr. An share their medical experience, what drew them to HOAF, and their plans to serve the HOAF community. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and learn more about HOAF’s plans for 2023 and beyond.

Dr. Vaughn:
Thank you, listening audience, and hope everyone had a wonderful and restful holiday season. I thought
it would be a great idea to start the new year with a podcast highlighting the exciting growth and
expansion that’s going to be taking place here at HOAF and discuss our practice plans going forward in
2023 and how we hope to continue to make enhancements and best support our patients and the
community going forward.
Fortunately, I think because of the continued growth and patient needs, we’ve been able to hire two
wonderful new physicians to the HOAF team. So during this podcast, we really want to highlight them
and how they’re going to make HOAF a better place. So I’d like to welcome Dr. Nanda, Dr. An, and also
Dr. Menachery’s here to really highlight the expansion that that’s going to happen in 2023. So, thank you
all for participating in our first podcast of 2023.

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Humans of HOAF: Lung Cancer Survivor Stories

In honor of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Vaughn welcomes three HOAF lung cancer survivors, Jim Herrick, Jennifer Bartley, and Bradley James, to share their journey and experience. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and hear the empowering stories recounting the importance of resilience, faith, and being proactive about your healthcare.

Dr. Vaughn:

Welcome listening audience. We are really excited about this upcoming podcast. Well, it is November and most of us are starting to lock into Thanksgiving prep, even remembrance of our veterans whom served or even getting a leg up on Black Friday. However, it is also a very important month in the arena of oncology because November marks Lung Cancer Awareness month. I would just like to highlight a few things before we begin. One is lung cancer is still the second most common cancer diagnosed in men and women, and unfortunately still is the number one cause of cancer mortality in both men and women. Although I do believe we are starting to make some significant strides, and the movement in novel therapeutics has been so apparent and, I believe, has impacted how I treat lung cancer probably more than any other cancer subtype. Lung cancer has, I believe, become the template on how we as medical oncologists target and individualize treatment for our patients.

The spectrum of treatment can be so different for each patient. We could recommend an oral medication that targets a specific weakness in a patient’s lung cancer, and in doing so sometimes can even remove chemotherapy altogether, or we can find ways to enhance our own immune system and using such drugs like KEYTRUDA and OPDIVO that bring our own lymphocytes to the site of cancer to destroy it. For instance, at Hope we just completed an enrollment of a clinical trial that showed the benefit of immunotherapy up front with chemotherapy before undergoing a definitive surgery. This has recently become FDA approved and now has become somewhat of a standard of care to undergo immunotherapy prior to surgery because of the beneficial outcomes that have been proven.
I would be also remiss though if I didn’t also discuss and take notice of our friends in both radiation oncology and thoracic surgery. They have also developed such novel techniques in radiation to deliver more precise treatments and limit side effects from radiation therapy. Our surgery colleagues have also demonstrated more less invasive surgeries removing less lung tissue and maybe it looks to be just as good as a large operation.

Also this benefits patients because they don’t have to stay as long in the hospital postoperatively.

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Humans of HOAF: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, two HOAF breast cancer survivors, Sharon Glad and Valencia Bailey, share their journey and experience battling breast cancer. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and hear the empowering stories recounting the importance of family, faith and the support of the HOAF community throughout their breast cancer journeys.

Dr. Vaughn:

Welcome listeners. It is October and that means Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We are very pleased to have two patient testimonials today on this podcast. These patients are going to relay their journey and experience with breast cancer. Hopefully this will be informative for our listeners who are battling similar hardships and situations.

Breast cancer has had some amazing new clinical advancements in the world of oncology. Recently, we just had, over the summer, a big change when the development of a new conjugate agent was shown to be very beneficial for advanced breast cancer. This is a drug called NHER2 and is really going to become a powerful player in treatment of breast cancer. It is not your typical chemotherapy, so it allows a great response rate, but also allows patients to really function and do very well with advanced breast cancer. This is also on the backbone of recent developments in [inaudible 00:01:02] therapy along with other oral agents.

This has been such a big advancement over the past two to three years. It seems like patients with advanced breast cancer are living so much longer and doing so much better. We’re very proud of being able to provide such good support at HOAF. Our survivorship programs continue to thrive. We really focus on patients’ functionality, making sure that they’re following certain guidelines of general wellness.

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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) have recently lifted requirements for mandatory face coverings in most healthcare settings in areas where community levels of infections are not considered high.  

Effective Tuesday, November 1st, we will no longer be requiring face masks for patients, visitors, staff or providers. The use of masks will be optional.

However, we strongly recommend that anyone who is immunocompromised, or has a high risk for infection, continue to wear a mask in our office, and in public.

If you choose to continue wearing a mask, and more importantly, if you want our staff and providers to be masked when seeing you in our office, we will gladly do so to ensure you always feel protected and safe.

We have set up a process to alert staff and ensure this happens. Simply ask the Front Desk when checking in to ensure your care team remains masked for your appointment(s). 

RECENT EXPOSURES TO COVID or HAVING SYMPTOMS of ILLNESS?

If you have recently been exposed or have symptoms of COVID or any other illness, please contact the office prior to your appointment for further instructions.   

Should you be cleared to come in, please wear a mask, even if you have tested negative for COVID. You should continue to wear a mask until you no longer have any symptoms of illness.

HOAF follows CDC and VDH guidelines closely, and we remain proactive in adjusting our policies to ensure we are protecting our patients and the community. Therefore, this policy may change in the future.

Yoga as Holistic Cancer Care with Teresa Miles

Dr. Vaughn talks with experienced yoga teacher, Teresa Miles, about the holistic health benefits of Ayurveda yoga practice in cancer care, as early as diagnosis. With more than 20 years of yoga teaching experience, Teresa discusses how yoga practice can be personalized to the needs of each patient. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and learn more about the benefits of yoga practice and breathwork as holistic cancer care for patients and survivors.

Calling all Cancer Patients and Survivors!
Join Teresa Miles for a FREE online yoga class at 11am ET to discover yoga’s holistic healing benefits. Please email Teresa at hulagirltlm@verizon.net to receive your Zoom link.

Reach out to Teresa Miles here: https://www.ayurga.net/

Dr. Vaughn:

Welcome to “Cancer Shop Talk: Behind the Diagnosis.” Many of you know how much we value the science behind holistic forms of cancer therapy at HOAF, and today we have the pleasure of speaking with a highly experienced yoga teacher, Teresa Miles. Teresa has a total of 20 years practicing and can break yoga down to simply knowing how to breathe, so we are honored to have Teresa today and I just wanted to just allow you to introduce yourself, Teresa, and what drove you into yoga as a practitioner.

Teresa Miles:

Thank you, Dr. Vaughn. It’s a pleasure to be here sharing my experience with the HOAF community. As you have said, I have 20 plus years of experience as a yoga teacher. I am also a cancer survivor. Five years ago I launched my private business called Ayurga, which is a common word between ayurveda and yoga. Ayurveda is basically healthful living. I also teach at HOAF as a means of giving back to society, yoga for holistic healing of cancer every Tuesday at 11:00.

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Cannabis and Cancer Care Continued with Jonathan V. Gallo

Dr. Vaughn is back with a new episode of Cancer Shop Talk: Behind the Diagnosis. In this episode, Dr. Vaughn talks with cannabis business lawyer Jonathan V. Gallo about the current state of cannabis laws in Virginia and how it affects oncology patients. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis, learn about how patients can get access to cannabis to relieve symptoms during treatment, and hear about the future of cannabis laws.

Dr. Vaughn:

Welcome to Cancer Shop Talk: Behind the Diagnosis. Today, we are speaking with a cannabis business lawyer as the third and final part of our Cannabis in Cancer Care series and we’re privileged today to have Jonathan Gallo, who’s an attorney at Vandeventer Black in Norfolk, Virginia, whose firm helps manage some of the cannabis law group, I guess, advises businesses in the industry, as this is, I’m sure, not only in medical industry, but evolving in other disciplines as well. Jonathan, we’re so happy to have you on board here and want to just give you the opportunity to introduce yourself and your background and how your practice got into some of this cannabis law in Virginia.

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Cannabis and Cancer Care Continued with Gabriela Montes

Cancer Shop Talk Podcast Episode 9 Gabriela Montest

Dr. Vaughn talks with certified cannabis nurse and member of the Cannabis Nurses Association and Cannabis Nurses Network Gabriela Montes about treating symptoms with cannabis. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis, learn about how nurses are educating themselves to accurately dose cannabinoids to help relieve patients’ symptoms, side effects to treatment, and more. 

Dr Vaughn: Welcome to Cancer Shop Talk, Behind the Diagnosis. Today, we are speaking with a certified cannabis nurse. I am excited to introduce Gabriela Montez, who is a member of the Cannabis Nurses Association and Cannabis Nurses Network.

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Cannabis and Cancer Care with Dr. Katia Tonkin

Dr. Vaughn talks with Oncologist and Society of Cannabis Clinicians board member Dr. Katia Tonkin about the changing role of cannabis in cancer care and pain management. Listen now to go behind the diagnosis and learn more about the medical use of cannabis and best practices in clinical care.

Dr Vaughn: Welcome to Cancer Shop Talk, Behind the Diagnosis.  Today’s episode begins our new series on Medical Cannabis.  We’re connecting with providers, subject matter experts, and patients to go behind medical cannabis and uncover how the treatment is used when it comes to oncology.  Today we’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Katia Tonkin to the show.

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