The James Cancer-Free World Podcast

“It’s been a labor of love to get this project off the ground,” says Kristin Bixel, MD, of a new James clinical trial for a minimally invasive surgical technique for cervical cancer that she is leading. Minimally invasive surgery (also called robotic surgery) is being performed on a growing number of different types of cancer. These less invasive surgeries reduce complications and speed up the rec...

The James Cancer Hospital is the first medical facility in central Ohio to offer radiofrequency ablation to treat and destroy benign and cancerous thyroid nodules. In this episode, Barbra Miller, MD, describes this high-tech, minimally invasive treatment technique and the advantages for patients. “It can be done in the office and most patients are in and out of the clinic within 30 minutes to an h...

Doctors at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital are using functional radiosurgery to treat patients. This is a high-tech method, also called stereotactic radiosurgery, in which extremely precise radiation beams are used to treat a wide range of neurological conditions in a less invasive and more precise way. In this episode, Evan Thomas, MD, a James radiation o...

During the past decade “the number of new drugs and the pathways that we’re targeting has expanded so much; it’s a very exciting time,” said Eric Singer, MD, a kidney cancer specialist and the new division chief for urologic oncology at the James. In this episode, Singer discusses how and why he got into medicine and oncology, why he uprooted from New Jersey to come to Ohio State, and some of the...

Mammograms save lives, and the James is at the forefront of this important screening procedure for breast cancer with the introduction of the new, state-of-the-art Clarity HD Imaging Technology. “Clarity HD is the newest generation of 3D tomosynthesis and we use it at every one of our sites, all 14,” said Natasha Monga, MD, a James breast imaging radiologist. In this episode, Monga talks about the...

Pancreatic surgery has traditionally been an invasive procedure. But now, Mary Dillhoff, MD, and other surgeons at the James utilize a minimally invasive, robotic surgery called the Whipple procedure (named after the surgeon who came up with it). In this episode, Dillhoff explains the Whipple procedure and its advantages, and she also discusses the new James pancreatic cancer multidisciplinary cli...

Cancer surgery has improved a great deal in the past several years and Timothy Pawlik and the James Cancer Hospital are helping to lead the way. Top-notch cancer surgery “requires complex solutions and a skilled team, with an emphasis on the team approach,” said Pawlik, MD, PhD, MPH, the surgeon-in-chief of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital. In this episode,...

The “human connection” with his patients is vital to Roman Skoracki, MD, the medical director of the Stephanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center. “That’s what energizes us, looking someone in the eye and saying ‘I want to do everything I can for you and I will go the extra mile for you,’” he said. In this episode, Skoracki talks about his international background. He was born in Germany, moved...

Providing the best possible care in a timely manner for colorectal cancer patients is the goal of Matthew Kalady, MD, for the new James Colorectal Cancer Center. “Everything starts with a vision and our vision is to be the best,” he said. In this episode, Kalady discusses how he fell in love with surgery during medical school and eventually came to specialize in colorectal cancer; his research on...

What is your risk for cancer and/or heart disease? The James Family Health Risk Calculator (familyhealthriskcalculator.osumc.edu) is a free and easy-to-use online tool that allows people to calculate their risk of cancer and heart disease based on their family’s medical history. In this episode, Kevin Sweet, MS, LGC, a James genetic counselor, explains the history of the calculator (this is the th...

Mina Makary, MD, gets excited when he talks about what he does: interventional radiology surgery. “We can cure a tumor in real time [in some cases],” he explains. “A patient comes in with a liver cancer tumor and we can ablate (burn or freeze) it and they can go home the same day, cancer free, with only a small bandage.” Interventional radiology surgery is a relatively new and growing field of can...

Improving the quality of life for head and neck cancer patients is the mission of Apoorva Ramaswamy, MD, a James surgeon who specializes in treating dysphagia. “This is extremely rewarding and at least once a week tears come to my eyes,” Ramaswamy said, adding this often occurs when a patient tells her they are now able to “eat food through their mouth for the first time in years.” In episode, Ram...

A clinical trial led by David Carbone, MD, PhD, and the James is improving the outcome for patients with metastatic, non-small cell lung cancer. “About 80 percent of the patients in the trial are still alive at three years … and we’re pretty excited about that,” said Carbone, director of the James Thoracic Oncology Center. In this episode, Carbone describes the clinical trial he led, which involve...

An Ohio State clinical trial gave new hope to a pancreatic cancer patient, and his participation could soon do the same for others. “2017 was a terrible year for me,” says Robert Baioni, whose diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was followed by news that his initial treatment had shown few signs of progress. “My oncologist told me the chemotherapy wasn’t working.” After beginning treatment near his Cin...

Electra Paskett, PhD, has a goal: Eliminate cervical cancer. It’s possible, she explained, with increased HPV vaccinations, screenings and automatic follow-up care for women with abnormal screenings. Paskett is one of the nation’s leading epidemiologists and the OSU associate director for Population Sciences and Community Outreach, co-leader of the Cancer Control Program and founding director of t...

When Sameek Roychowdhury began his career as a cancer physician and scientist in the early 2000s, the field of immuno-oncology was in the early stages and didn’t look very promising. There were a few signs of progress but “we needed a fine-tuned approach rather than a sledgehammer,” In this episode, Roychowdhury gives a step-by-step history of immuno-oncology in easy-to-understand language. The tu...

Come on along as we talk to David Cohn, MD, about his journey from the ski slopes of the Pocono mountains to the surgical suites of the James Cancer Hospital. Cohn is the interim CEO of the James, the hospital’s chief medical officer and a gynecologic cancer specialist. In this episode, Cohn talks about growing up in suburban Washington, D.C., his love of skiing and music (he plays the guitar, man...

In a new James clinical trial, the influenza vaccine is injected directly into the melanoma of a patient. In this episode, Contreras, a James surgical oncologist, explains how he expanded upon a basic concept that has been around for decades to create this clinical trial. The idea is that while the influenza vaccine will not have a direct effect on the melanoma, “it puts the entire immune system o...

Although still a rare type of cancer, the number of anal cancer diagnoses are on the rise. “No other cancer has so many factors that prevent patients from seeking care,” said Syed Husain, MBBS, a colorectal cancer and anal cancer specialist at The James, and one of the leaders of The James Comprehensive Anal Cancer Screening Center. In this episode, Husain talks about how “this is a very private a...

Richard Wu, MD, PhD, and the James are at the forefront of a new type of cancer treatment in which lymphocytes from a patient’s immune system are removed from a tumor, enhanced in the lab and then returned to the body to better detect and kill cancer cells. It’s called: tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy and it is currently being used in clinical trials at the James and other leading canc...

Immunotherapy has proven to be a great leap forward in treating cancer, as these drugs help activate the body’s immune system to better detect and kill the cancerous cells growing and hiding in the body. However, about “30 to 40 percent of the patients [treated with immunotherapy drugs] develop an autoimmune disease and that’s where I come in,” said Alexa Meara, MD, a rheumatologist who specialize...

Early in her nursing career, during an internship at a cancer hospital, Corrin Steinhauer, RN, DNP, NEA-BC, CPPS, learned a valuable lesson she’s never forgotten. A wise, experienced nurse taught her “how to build relationships with patients … how to be kind and to be there for your patients,” said the new Chief Nursing Officer of the James. In this episode, Steinhauer describes how she got into n...

Advances in genetic analysis, bone marrow transplants and cellular therapies have helped the leukemia specialist at the OSUCCC – James attain better outcomes for patients with blood cancers. “When a patient comes in, we get a sample from their bone marrow to know the genetics of their leukemia,” said Dr. Sumithira Vasu. “We want to know what is causing the leukemia to grow, and cause so much damag...

Gina Sizemore, PhD, and her lab specialize in identifying the causes of metastatic breast cancer at the molecular level. One anomaly they have discovered in the microenvironment that exists in breast tissue is a protein called platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGFB). In this new episode, Sizemore, an assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and a member of the Cancer Biology Pr...

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are the most common type of malignant brain tumor and are very aggressive, which means they grow quickly. The current treatment options are limited. “We’re interested in finding the targets that drive the proliferation of these cells, or their resistance to radiotherapy, and then manipulate this to increase the ability of radiotherapy to kill them, or make it so they no longer...