Taylor Leddin-McMaster (Host): Hello, listeners. Thank you for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Taylor Leddin-McMaster. And joining me today is Dr. Patrick Moore, oncologist and hematologist with the Riverside Cancer Institute, who's here to talk about the role of oncology and hematology in cancer care. Welcome.

Dr. Patrick Moore: Thank you for having me.

Host: Of course. Before we start, I know this is your first time on our podcast. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Dr. Patrick Moore: So, born and raised in a little small town from North Carolina. I came up here for fellowship at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. So, I did my hematology oncology fellowship out there. And then, I left for a year to do a transplant fellowship out in California, and then came back and started working here, in the Chicagoland area since then. So, I've been back about since, like, 2023. So, I met my wife and basically established roots here. And I love my Chicagoland area.

Host: Awesome. How did you get into this specialty of medicine?

Dr. Patrick Moore: It's kind of a long but short story. My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, shortly before I started medical school. And that was something that, you know, even when you're first starting medical school, you really don't know what you're dealing with, and so it was just super scary at the time, too. Thankfully, he is in remission. And so, he's doing well.

And then, my aunt, when I was younger, prior to me going off to college, my senior year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage IV. And unfortunately, she passed from that. However, the care that I saw from the physicians at the time was super compassionate, super, patient, empowering. Her condition wasn't great and her prognosis wasn't great. But at the same time, they did everything they can to help make her as comfortable as possible and give her all the options that she could.

And so, in seeing those situations, basically, you know, that kind of led me down to this path. I remember there was a particular situation when I was in medical school, I did a rotation up here in Chicago. And I was with this father-son oncology group. And I remember a patient came in, and she only had known about just the diagnosis of breast cancer, and that's it. And she was crying and distraught. And I remember by the time she left the visit, she was smiling and laughing and had a new perspective on life because it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. They basically told her that we could cure it. And so, we eventually did cure it and eventually got her into remission. So, I hope she's doing well today. But yeah, those are kind of different paths that basically led me down to wanting to be an oncologist.

Host: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. For those who may not know, what is the difference between an oncologist and a hematologist?

Dr. Patrick Moore: There's a lot of overlap between the two. Most hematology oncology doctors do a combined fellowship. So, we're trained to treat solid tumors, solid tumors meaning like lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, tumors that you can actually see and can feel. And then, there's hematology, which deals basically with the study of the blood. And hematology can be what we call benign, so basically things that necessarily aren't life-threatening. And then, there's malignant heme, which are types of blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia and things that can harm you long-term if they're not treated. And then, there's a lot of overlap between the two of them. And often most hematology oncologists treat both of them. And then, you have those who sometimes after they're done with fellowship, they often can do a subspecialty. So basically they focus on just one particular subject. So, you have some doctors who focus on just lung cancer, just colon cancer, just lymphoma, just leukemia, et cetera, et cetera.

And so, most of the hematology oncology doctors that you'll see probably are treating all of it, kind of a combination of all of it. And then, if you're at a university center, a lot of times, you'll have some people who focus on just particular types of subjects. That way, basically when patients come and need like super specialty care, then they will see those particular people then.

Host: Gotcha. Okay. So, what types of conditions do you treat most often?

Dr. Patrick Moore: Most often, it's kind of a combination of different things. And so, a lot of times we'll see patients with, you know, iron deficiency anemia, where basically patients just either aren't getting enough iron or they're losing too much iron.

And so, we'll treat that. A lot of times, we will treat different types of cancer. Unfortunately, breast cancer is probably one of the most common ones along with colon cancer and lung cancer. Lung cancer, particularly in patients who smoke, I see more of that in kind of more the older population because I feel like, as the years have gone by, the decades have gone by, a lot less people smoke nowadays. And that's the one of the leading causes of lung cancer itself. And so, those are the most common types of conditions that we treat here.

Host: Okay. So, many people hear cancer doctor and immediately feel overwhelmed. What do you wish the community better understood about your role?

Dr. Patrick Moore: Our role essentially is to try to cure it and give you as much time and comfort, and try to make your life as simple as possible while we figure out how to treat and cure whatever the condition is.

Most of the time, people hear cancer and think that it is a death sentence. I even thought that growing up as well, especially after the experience with my aunt. And that's not necessarily the case. A lot of times, we catch it early, especially if you're following with your primary care doctor often, getting your blood work done, talking to them about any kind of new symptoms.

Basically, you know, we're able to catch all these conditions early on. And when we're able to catch them early on, we're able to cure those conditions most of the time very quickly as well. and so it can be scary once you hear that word. I think even if I heard that word for me or in my family, anywhere like that, I would automatically still kind of have a little panic inside myself as well. But at the same time, you take a step back. And once you get all the data, all the information and get as informed as possible, then make, you know, the most informed decision, we can cure a lot of different things as long as you're paying attention to yourself. And so, continuing getting your yearly physical exam. Don't ignore any symptoms. And if you have anything, come to your doctor as soon as possible.

Host: So here at Riverside Cancer Institute, there's a big team of people. I'm curious what kind of role an oncologist hematologist like yourself plays in the treatment, like the team treatment, versus who else you work with who might be working with the patient as well.

Dr. Patrick Moore: Yeah. So, we have a multidisciplinary team that we work with. So, it's the oncologists, the doctors. We have the PAs and the nurse practitioners as well. We also have the nurses. And then, you have the pastoral care, you have the social worker, you have the dietician, the psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, I mean, the front desk, everybody's here to help out and do everything we can, like I said, to make this experience as comfortable as possible.

Our role as the oncologist essentially is to diagnose it and come up with a treatment plan. And then, everyone around us helps implement that treatment plan and also make sure that the patient gets through this treatment plan as safely as possible, and support them as much as possible. And so, that's where the social worker helps come in with any kind of financial concerns. And basically, you know, a lot of times, we'll help have the social worker help out, and they do an amazing job when it comes to that. The dietician help does an amazing job with helping make sure that cancer patients maintain good and adequate nutrition intake, during that time period as well. Our nurses are amazing. They give amazing care, especially in the infusion area. They're doing a great job as far as making sure the patients are comfortable while they're getting their treatments as well.

And so, it's a multidisciplinary type of care team. We go above and beyond and try to do what we can to, like I said, make sure the patients get through this as comfortable as possible.

Host: Well, great. Before we continue our conversation, we're going to take a moment to talk about the importance of primary care.

At Riverside, our primary care providers are right here in your community, offering personalized care for you and your family, close to home and connected to the specialists and services you may need. Having a primary care provider means having someone who knows you, listens to you, and helps you stay well through every stage of life, from annual checkups and preventative screenings to managing everyday concerns when they pop up. Because remarkable care should never be out of reach. Remarkable care right where you live.

To find a primary care provider who's right for you and your family, visit myrhc.net/acceptingnew.

And we're back talking with Dr. Moore. What would you say are some of the most common cancer treatments people might be receiving today?

Dr. Patrick Moore: Cancer treatments, it has advanced a lot, especially even since I've become a cancer doctor. A lot of the times, if it's caught early on, then we work with our general surgeons or thoracic surgeons, any particular surgeon. And a lot of times, they'll go in and cut out the actual cancer itself. And if you catch it early enough, then that's all you need, which is the most ideal situation during that time period as well.

Other things that patients are encountering, basically sometimes if it's a little bit more advanced, sometimes the patient will need to do chemotherapy, which is drugs that they will receive typically in their veins to help reduce and shrink and weaken the cancer before the surgeons would go in and do their intervention as well.

Often also, we work with our radiation oncologist colleagues, especially Dr. Rashed here, who gives radiation therapy, which is basically focused beams of energy to help shrink and weaken the cancer. And then, sometimes the chemotherapy and radiation are given at the same time in order to help do that as well.

 Then, there's other advances, mmunotherapy basically where it triggers basically the immune system to attack the cancer. So, it uses your own body's immune system to do that. And then, there's specialized drug medications that we use now to try to target any kind of mutations that might be basically fueling the cancer during that time period too.

So, it's advanced a lot, over the last few years. And honestly, it's continuing to advance. There's always something coming out almost every week or every month. And so, it's a lot to keep up with. But it's also, like I said, an amazing thing to see how far we've come.

Host: Yeah. Even as a layman like myself who's not in the thick of it like you are, it's fascinating to see how things continue to advance. You had talked about this a little bit before about how hematology focuses on blood disorders. Can you delve into that a little bit more and talk about some of the non-cancer conditions you treat?

Dr. Patrick Moore: So, you know, we talked about iron deficiency. Everyone has to take in a certain amount of iron often, especially in women who receive their menstrual cycles often are losing iron through that as well. And so often if they're not having an adequate intake of iron itself, then there's more of a net loss of that, and so they end up anemic. And so, we help replenish that. B12 deficiencies, folate deficiencies are basically vitamins that are vital for red blood cell production. The red cells are the ones that carry oxygen. As well, we deal with people who come in with high platelets, which are the cells that help you stop bleeding when you cut yourself, or sometimes patients might come in with low or high white blood cells, which are the cells that help you fight off infections.

And so, sometimes also patients will come in with blood clots. And then, we manage basically how long they would receive treatment and try to figure out, okay, what is the cause of them having that blood clot as well. Sometimes it's just related to patients having a long drive or a long flight, or if they had some sort of acute illness or infection locally, and then they had the blood clot there, then that makes sense.

But then, there's also times where you don't necessarily know why a patient had a blood clot. And so then, you have to do further investigation to figure out are they at higher risk later on for getting more blood clots. And so, that's kind of the different things we treat, non-cancerous blood types.

Host: Thank you for that. Are there symptoms or warning signs related to some of those blood disorders that people should pay attention to?

Dr. Patrick Moore: So if you are anemic, especially if you're having iron deficiency anemia, a lot of times, you know, once the red blood cells get low enough, then you'll start to notice that you're feeling more tired, more fatigued when you're walking around, more short of breath sometimes. Your heart rate is beating faster. you just don't have the same energy. If you're having, like, a B12 deficiency, you might notice also those symptoms, plus also you might notice that you have a little bit of numbness or tingling that's kind of constant in the feet or hands, and you don't particularly know why.

Other things to be on the lookout for, having fevers, the unexplained fevers, and you can't explain why that you're feeling this way throughout the day. If you're having any kind of night sweats where you wake up and you're drenched in sweat, and that's happening multiple times a week or even weekly, or on a regular basis in general, then that's something you should be concerned about. Any unexplained weight loss. There are plenty of people who are, you know, trying to diet and exercise. And that's fine, especially if you notice that the weight is starting to come off after you made some great modifications. You know, people cut out sugar and processed things like that. And that's understandable. But if you have been maintaining of a similar diet and all of a sudden you just notice, "No matter how much I eat, I'm still losing weight," then that's something you should be alarmed about and get further worked up as well.

Host: And you had mentioned earlier the importance of keeping up with primary care visits, having annual tests and things like that done. Are there routine lab visits that can signal something more serious that people should be getting on an annual basis?

Dr. Patrick Moore: Usually at a routine wellness visit, they will check your blood count, or what we call a CBC. And basically, that would allow us to see what the white blood cells are looking like, the red blood cells, and also the platelets. And so, if at any point those look significantly alarming, then, of course, you know, it needs to be further worked up.

Sometimes when we look at what we call the chemistry, you look at the electrolytes, you look at the kidney function, look at the liver function. And if any of those seem significantly off, especially the kidney or liver function out of the ordinary compared to usual, then that's something that needs to be worked up pretty quickly as well. And so, it depends on the level of the anomaly as well and how quickly you need to work that up. And so, I always recommend patients, at least get the kidney and liver function, and blood counts checked on a yearly basis at least.

Host: Well, we're getting to the end here. Is there anything else you would like listeners to know?

Dr. Patrick Moore: I encourage patients to always listen to their body. don't ignore any symptoms that might be persistent more than a couple weeks, to be honest with you. As well, continue to get your annual, preventative, cancer screenings.

for women, you know, make sure that you're getting your mammograms, after 40, getting your colonoscopies after 45 or 50 years old. and continue to get your blood work with your primary care doctor.

Taylor Leddin-McMaster (Host): Well, thank you so much, Dr. Moore. I appreciate all that information and insight, and for taking the time to join us today.

And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast. Be sure to like and subscribe to Well Within Reach on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about the Riverside Cancer Institute, go to riversidehealthcare.org/cancer.