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Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO
Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO, is a professor of medicine and professor of surgery at Brown University, director of the Pelvic Malignancies Program and Hematology-Oncology Outpatient Clinics at Lifespan Cancer Institute, and director of Medical Oncology and the Sexual Health First Responders Clinic at Rhode Island Hospital. He also serves as the head of community outreach and engagement of the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University. Dr. Dizon has served as past chair of ASCO's Social Media Working Group and the Cancer Communications Committee. In addition to his regular column on ASCOconnection.org, which has been honored with APEX awards in 2013 and 2014, he is a blogger for The Oncologist and a section editor of Gynecologic Oncology at UpToDate. Dr. Dizon is a member of the JCO Oncology Practice Editorial Board, and editor in chief of the ASCO Educational Book. Follow Dr. Dizon across social media channels @drdonsdizon.
Mar 20, 2013
“Great,” I thought, as I stood at my desk, looking at my patient list early in the morning. She was coming in today. “She” was a patient of mine in her forties, with newly diagnosed triple-negative breast cancer, without nodal involvement. Our first meeting had been several months ago, and it had...
Mar 05, 2013
As an oncologist who also runs a sexual health clinic for women treated (or under treatment), I am discovering that my perspective on both issues of cancer treatment (and survival) and life after cancer (and quality of life) is somewhat unique. I am conscious of how difficult it is to bring up...
Feb 13, 2013
An email was waiting for me one morning from my wonderful nurse, Laura. "Very sad day," it said in the subject line. I opened the email quickly upon receiving it (we had just recovered from a northeast blizzard, after all) and read that one of my patients had died. This age-old dilemma again made...
Jan 26, 2013
One of the toughest situations in oncology is the discussion about next steps, particularly when it comes to treatment of recurrent or metastatic disease. I believe very much that it is realistic to offer a patient the hope of cancer as a “chronic disease,” that treatment can result in disease...
Jan 09, 2013
I have been asked several times why I blog and how I find the time to do it. Like some of my colleagues (virtual and real), I blog because it’s cathartic for me and in some small way, I’d like to believe I am promoting a more honest discussion among peers by participating in a forum that allows...
Dec 30, 2012
A feeling of introspection always marks the end of the year for me. Perhaps it is because of medicine and of oncology—but, as January approaches, I am cognizant of time and how precious it truly is. I find myself reminiscing about the year through photographs (with the help of iPhoto, I have them...
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