Patient Factors in Colorectal Cancer

Cathy Eng, professor and director, Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, says an oncologist needs to recognize that every patient is different.

An oncologist should learn about the patient’s caregiver, the patient’s living situation, social situation and more. It’s crucial for an oncologist to understand who to and not to share a patient’s information with.

Eng encourages her patients not to take a deep dive into their diagnosis on the Internet and social media. While these tools can be helpful later on, a newly diagnosed patient may find bad information and cause unnecessary stress.