Sara A. Hurvitz, MD

Classifying Breast Cancer

Being Diagnosed With HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Understanding Treatment Options for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Understanding HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Progression of HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Goals of Treatment After Progression of HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Advances in HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Tucatinib With Chemotherapy for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Adhering to Oral Therapy for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Treating HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Videos

Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, discusses information about HER2+ metastatic breast cancer with one of her patients, Caitlin Flanagan, as she shares her personal journey with breast cancer.

Treating HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer: Caitlin’s Story

The new coronavirus, also called COVID-19, is particularly concerning for patients with cancer. However, survivors, while not as immunocompromised as those in active treatment, should still discuss their risk factors with their physicians to determine what, if any, extra precautions they should take.

At the 2020 Miami Breast Cancer Conference® and Educated Patient Breast Cancer Summit, 

 spoke with Dr. Sara Hurvitz, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, about what questions survivors should ask their medical teams to stay safe during the pandemic. 

I don’t think that most patients who are survivors who have already been treated for their breast cancer and are not currently on chemotherapy or other therapies that lower the white (blood cell) count, they’re not necessarily at a higher risk of developing it than other patients.

But it’s important to talk to one’s oncologist and primary care physician to gauge, based on my age, based on other medical conditions that I have, or based on the medications that I’m taking, how do you gauge what my risk is, and what activities should I avoid, or what activities am I OK to do?

Expert Dr. Sara Hurvitz discusses why cancer survivors should discuss their risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic with their healthcare providers.

Cancer Survivors Should Discuss COVID-19 Risks with Their Health Care Providers

When making treatment decisions in breast cancer, patient concerns about how each treatment will affect their daily life — and their disease stage &mdash; have an important role to play, according to Dr. Sara Hurvitz.

Hurvitz, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, gave examples from her own practice to illustrate how many patients will weigh their treatment options and how much toxicity they’re willing to take on based on their disease stage.

Patient concerns are always important when making treatment recommendations. I would say it’s equally important to what the clinician feels the patient should go on, (along with) concerns about toxicity, how it will impact their day-to-day life (and) concerns about whether or not a given drug is actually going to extend their survival or improve their symptoms from their cancer.

I’ve noticed with my own patients that, often, a patient’s concern about side effects differs based on what stage of disease they have. For example, often a patient who is symptomatic from metastatic breast cancer is going to be much more willing to take on a little bit of toxicity in order to get the disease under control and to feel better from the cancer. On the other hand, a patient with early stage disease who doesn’t have any visible cancer in her body might be more affected by troubling side effects from a pill that she’s required to take for five or 10 years. And that may be harder for the patient to tolerate.

So, I think it’s important for us as clinicians to elicit from our patients: What are the main concerns that you have regarding a given therapy? What are your goals? What are you doing in your day-to-day life, and how might the therapies that we are offering you impact your ability to function and to achieve the goals that you have set for yourself?

Articles

When making treatment decisions in breast cancer, patient concerns about how each treatment will affect their daily life &mdash; and their disease stage &mdash; have an important role to play, according to Dr. Sara Hurvitz.

Patient Concerns and Treatment Decisions Are Impacted by Disease Stage

The safety profile and effectiveness of each therapeutic option are both important considerations to keep in mind when clinicians and patients weigh their breast cancer treatment options, according to Dr. Sara Hurvitz.

recently spoke with Hurvitz, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, who walked through different scenarios in which safety and efficacy of each option may be given more weight depending on a patient’s situation, ultimately leading to a treatment decision that is most beneficial to the patient.

Both efficacy and safety of a given therapeutic are equally important considerations when deciding which therapy to go on.

In some situations, the safety profile is going to be more critical. For example, when a patient requires therapy to be given for an extended period of time, we have to consider how that drug’s safety profile and side effect profile is going to allow the patient to interact in her life.

In the early-stage setting, where we’re giving, for example, chemotherapy for three to four months, the safety profile is going to be a little worse, but we are trying to improve the patient’s odds for a cure. So, we are more willing to take on that toxicity profile.

That said, in every situation, the patient needs to be an active participant who is engaged with the clinician in making the decision regarding what type of therapy he or she will decide to take.

The safety profile and effectiveness of each therapeutic option are both important considerations to keep in mind when clinicians and patients weigh their breast cancer treatment options, according to one expert.

Sara A. Hurvitz, MD

Treating HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer: Caitlin’s Story

Cancer Survivors Should Discuss COVID-19 Risks with Their Health Care Providers

Patient Concerns and Treatment Decisions Are Impacted by Disease Stage

Efficacy and Safety Are Key Factors When Selecting Breast Cancer Treatment

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