FLASCO

FLASCO

George W. Sledge, MD, FASCO

Apr 19, 2011

Just a brief note on the FLASCO meeting this past weekend. Our Florida colleagues met at the Tampa Airport Marriott for their annual state society meeting and were kind enough to invite me, for which I am grateful. The meeting was an interesting mix of the medical (talks on prostate and breast cancer) and the political and economic. I had the opportunity to give an update from ASCO, as well as to speak about breast cancer (which I have had relatively little opportunity to discuss this year).

I was particularly fascinated by a panel discussion on prostate cancer. The discussion (which included mentions of proton beam therapy, robotic surgery, and Provenge) was significantly focused on the overall issue of value. Value, simply put, is how much benefit at what cost. Discussions regarding value were rare five or ten years ago, but are becoming increasingly common, particularly for new (read: expensive) technologies. The panelists had a lively discussion surrounding the new treatments and the importance of quantifying benefit in an era of financial constraints on the health care system.

Our state societies do a fine job of bringing our members together, and I congratulate the Florida society for the excellence of their meeting, and again thank them for the opportunity to attend and participate. I was fighting a fierce upper respiratory viral thing that left me hacking and hoarse, so I hope that I didn’t infect any of them, and that I was at least somewhat intelligible.
 

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Comments

Thomas A. Marsland, MD, FASCO

Apr, 19 2011 9:38 AM

thank you Dr Sledge for your kind comments. We at Flasco always try to present good science while stressing the need to be good stewards of our limited healthcare resources. Your comments were right on tract and well received. We especially appreciated you getting off your sick bed and making the sojourn to Tampa. Tom Marsland

David Joseph Debono, MD

Apr, 20 2011 10:12 AM

George: I can't believe your year as ASCO president is drawing to a close. I've enjoyed your BLOG posts this year. You've done a great job of giving us an idea of the activities of an ASCO president and a bird's eye view of where our field is going. Thanks!


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