<p>Advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requires a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to care that addresses the mental, physical, and spiritual needs of each patient. Incorporating collaboration into decision making through tumor boards and the integration of palliative care can improve patient outcomes.</p>

The mantra of AdventHealth, the health care system for which I work, is whole-person care of mind, body, and spirit. I truly believe in whole-person care and in the concept of thinking about the mind, body, and spirit. I am good at taking care of the body but only so-so at taking care of the mind, since I am not a trained palliative care physician or counselor. The spiritual side is not my forte either. Different patients have different needs in all these domains, and one size does not fit all.

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A patient with advanced-stage NSCLC needs a subspecialty multidisciplinary team. My circle of professional peers includes thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists and interventional pulmonologists, radiation oncologists, thoracic and molecular pathologists, and thoracic radiologists. We have a weekly tumor board during which we review and discuss each case, addressing the issues that are specific to each patient. The average patient with cancer sees many of these specialists over the course of their disease. They like to know that their team is organized, collaborative, and communicative in a way that benefits their care.

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I have always said that I am a much better medical oncologist because of what thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists, and radiation oncologists have taught me about managing advanced-stage NSCLC. I feel more well rounded and better equipped to educate and care for my patients. So, to me, that is the only way that oncology should be practiced. You need a multidisciplinary team that collaborates and communicates, holding tumor boards and discussions about new data sets that are presented at meetings.

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In the context of whole-person care, I am a huge advocate for integrating palliative care into oncology clinics, and my health care system is working on that right now. I ran a pilot program with palliative care at my clinic for a couple of years, and it was fantastic. There is evidence in the literature that integrating palliative care with effective lung cancer care improves patient outcomes.

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Along with palliative care comes social workers and counselors, as well as other services that are important for patients with cancer but are not necessarily my areas of expertise. I think that this is a continuum of services that patients need. I am passionate about the role of palliative care and have seen its benefits in the lung cancer space over the past decade or so.