Feeling Unseen and Unheard: Patient and Caregiver Experiences in Cardio-Oncology

Dr Joshua Mitchell, MD, MSCI is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the Cardio-Oncology Centre of Excellence and the Cardio-Oncology Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, US. He also serves as Co-Director of the Amyloid Centre of Excellence.

Before joining Washington University in 2015, Dr Mitchell dedicated 11 years to the Army, serving as a Field Artillery Officer and a physician with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment, achieving the rank of Major and earning two Bronze Star Medals.

In addition to his roles at Washington University, Dr Mitchell is a member of the editorial boards for JACC: Cardio-Oncology and the American Journal of Medicine. He chairs the IC-OS Patient Advocacy working group and is a member of the IC-OS Scientific Committee, having previously chaired the 2021 IC-OS expert consensus statement for cardiovascular disease screening in radiation survivors.

Dr Mitchell's clinical and research interests focus on understanding cardiovascular disease associated with cancer treatment and the diagnosis and management of cardiac amyloidosis. His research also explores the use of coronary artery calcium to enhance risk prediction and target preventive therapy.

Marta Blanco is the founder of Sofia's Hope and a dedicated board member of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS). In January 2013, Marta established Sofia's Hope in honour of her eldest daughter, Sofia, who passed away from heart failure after years after treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her mission is to advance the cause of pediatric cancer, with a particular focus on pediatric cardio-oncology. Marta Blanco recently joined the IC-OS board, bringing a powerful voice for childhood cancer patients and their families.

Born in New Orleans, LA, to Colombian parents, Marta is fully bilingual and bicultural. She earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University (LSU) and is a graduate of Thunderbird – the American Graduate School of International Management. Marta began her career in Research, where she gained extensive knowledge in consumer insights and their significance in marketing and advertising. She identifies more as an Account Planner than simply an Account Manager or Research Manager.

A native of the Netherlands, Peter was successfully treated with radiation therapy at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam in 1994. After moving to the United States, Peter completed his BA and MA, worked in Western Hemisphere policy for a few years, and then joined his family’s international agricultural company. After 15 years he joined an agricultural start up focused on naturally improving soil conditions and crop production and has since created a second start up, also with a focus on environmental sustainability.

Side effects from his treatments have continued to take a toll, losing thyroid and spleen functions early on, Peter started to experience what were thought to be pulmonary issues almost 25 years post-treatment. After five years of many pulmonary and cardiac testing, and being seen by many specialists, Peter reached out to IC-OS in 2023 and found the medical literature that explained his symptoms. With access to the medical literature, he finally found a cardiology team able to understand his symptoms and diagnose him with Radiation Induced Heart Disease. 

He is currently taking medication, under great care, and is serving on the IC-OS Patient Advocacy Committee. He is a very proud father of three great children, and he and his wife, Laura, work hard to manage family, work, life, and the complications and stress that can accompany a diagnosis like this. Dedicated to his family, he wants to make sure cancer survivors find the appropriate cardio-oncology more quickly than he was able to.

Kerry Skurka is a Cardio-oncology Nurse at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Franklin, US. With a professional career in cardiology nursing, Kerry transitioned to oncology following her own cancer experience. While treating cancer patients, she frequently encountered cardiac symptoms, which led her to become the first Cardio-oncology Nurse Navigator at Franciscan Health.

In collaboration with Cardio-oncologist Vijay Rao, the cardio-oncology programme expanded to include three nurse navigators and six satellite clinics. During this time Kerry was given the opportunity to start the Nursing Workgroup within the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS), significantly contributing to the growth of cardio-oncology nursing.

Losing both her husband and father to cancer, Kerry's dedication to her work is unwavering. Currently, she works independently in the healthcare field sharing her knowledge and experience providing consultation for nurses and healthcare programmes.

Dr Yoo is a cardiovascular disease and cardio-oncology & amyloidosis fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, US. His academic interests are focused on advancing global cardiovascular disease research through clinical trials and implementation science.

Dr Yoo completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago and earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He then finished his internal medicine residency training at the University of Michigan. As a former NIH Fogarty Global Health Fellow, he dedicated his research fellowship year to the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in Delhi, contributing significantly to global health research.

Currently, he is an active member of the IC-OS Patient Advocacy Committee.

Dr Dan Lenihan is a cardio-oncologist specialising in cardiology, heart disease and advanced heart failure, at Saint Francis Healthcare System, Cape Girardeau, US.

He is a co-Founder and Board Member of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (ICOS), which is an international professional association whose primary goal is to eliminate cardiac disease as a barrier to effective cancer therapy. 

He is actively involved in patient care as the Director of the Cardio-Oncology Programme, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and the Heart Failure clinic at Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Dr Joe Carver is the Bernard Fishman Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, US. He is the Chief of Staff at the Abramson Cancer Center.

He is the Director of the Thalheimer Cardio-oncology Center at the Abramson Cancer Center and his clinical practice is in the subspecialty of cardio-oncology.