Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, FACRO, presented “Safely Managing a Radiation Oncology Clinic in the Age of COVID-19” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in April, 2020.
How to cite: Finkelstein, Steven E. “Safely Managing a Radiation Oncology Clinic in the Age of COVID-19” April, 2020. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/safely-managing-a-radiation-oncology-clinic-in-the-age-of-covid-19/
Safely Managing a Radiation Oncology Clinic in the Age of COVID-19 – Summary:
Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, FACRO, a radiation oncologist with Florida Cancer Affiliates in Panama City, Florida, provides guidance on how to safely manage a radiation oncology clinic during the COVID-19 crisis. He explains that it is important to screen patients for COVID-19 symptoms before treatments, and emphasizes that staff must be trained in how to safely work with potentially infected individuals. Noting that every practice will have to plan differently depending on its resources and the population it serves, Dr. Finkelstein also discusses how practices might minimize the number of patients seen, i.e. by deferring radiation treatments for prostate cancer in favor of increased duration of neoadjuvant ADT or active surveillance when appropriate. He observes that while alternatives to traditional radiation oncology like seed implantation could minimize clinic visits, many practices currently lack the resources to implement brachytherapy.
For other urology-focused information on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit our resource page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, FACRO, is a radiation oncologist with Florida Cancer Affiliates in Panama City, Florida. He has served as a Co-Chair on the NRG Immunotherapy Committee, Co-Chair of the 2018-2019 ACRO Scientific Program Committee, and Chair of the SWOG Radiation STG Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Chancellors for ACRO. Dr. Finkelstein has also served as National Director of Translational Research Consortium (TRC), the cutting-edge therapy arm of 21st Century Oncology in Scottsdale, Arizona. Inspired by his grandmother, a cancer patient, he became a dedicated cancer surgeon who found that radiation therapy could sometimes do for his patients what surgery could not. Dr. Finkelstein received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. He served a residency in General Surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, and was Chief Resident in Radiation Oncology at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Finkelstein also served fellowships in Biologic Immunotherapy, Clinical Cancer, and Surgical Oncology at the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a member of the American College of Radiation Oncology, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the Radiological Society of North America, and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.
