13: Utilizing a Palliative Care Team in Navigating a Complex Prostate Cancer Journey – Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield, MD

We are excited to have Dr. Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield, a medical oncologist from the University of Kansas Medical Center, joining us again for another episode of the Prostate Health Podcast. Recently, Dr. Wulff-Burchfield did an outstanding job of giving us a breakdown of advanced prostate cancer. In today’s show, she will talk to us about palliative care and she will explain how valuable it is for men and their caregivers as they navigate the complex journey of prostate cancer. Stay tuned for more.

After attending medical school at Duke University, Dr. Wulff-Burchfield went on to complete her internal medicine residency and fellowships in both medical oncology and palliative medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her specialties include genitourinary oncology and palliative medicine, and her clinical research is focused on genitourinary cancers and the intersection of genitourinary cancers with supportive and palliative care. Be sure to listen in today, to hear what Dr. Wulff-Burchfield has to say about palliative care for prostate cancer.

Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation. 

Show highlights:

• Dr. Wulff-Burchfield explains what palliative care is.
• The goals of palliative care.
• The differences between medical oncology and palliative care medicine.
• Where the focus of palliative care lies.
• How palliative care differs from Hospice.
• What Hospice entails.
• How to initiate care with a palliative care specialist.
• Something that causes a lot of concern for the AAHPM (American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine).
• A great way of bringing palliative care to the masses.
• Some people are initially afraid to involve a palliative care specialist.
• What to expect during the initial consultation with a palliative care specialist.
• How men with prostate cancer, and their families, can be assisted from a palliative care standpoint.
• Some of the challenges which men with prostate cancer and their caregivers might have to face.
• Both in-patient and out-patient palliative care are available at most institutions for men with prostate cancer.
• The different palliative care team members that a patient could expect to be working with while seeing a palliative care specialist.
• There is no risk involved in receiving palliative care.

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Dr. Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield 

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine