Cardio-Oncology

In the last decade, cancer treatment options have expanded tremendously. “But at the same time, a lot of those treatment agents, namely certain classes of medications, can also attack other organs, namely the heart. And that's where we come in.” Cardio-oncologist Dr. Kevin Cao works hand in hand with a cancer patients’ oncologist. “When a patient gets started on chemotherapy, we start a monitoring process. And the whole entire goal of our team is to prevent a side effect and prevent any possible interruption to their chemotherapy…I would say our job is to personalize or individualize follow-up with all of our patients.”

We now have tools that help identify possible problems early. Patients are often able to continue their chemotherapy treatment. “What we do is actually we get these patients on heart failure medications, and we've seen this time and again. We're able to reverse the damage that was done to the heart and bring the patients back to essentially normal heart function,” said Dr. Cao.

Cardio-oncology is focused on caring for those with existing heart disease who develop cancer, those undergoing chemotherapy, and long-term cancer survivors who may have received cardio toxic regimens. Since Dr. Cao is based out of Lee Health’s Regional Cancer Center, “We're sort of the one-stop shop where you can see your oncologist, get your treatment, stay inpatient, see your surgical oncologist, and also see cardiology in-house.”

Carol Holloway could feel a lump forming in May 2023. After seeing her doctor, they determined she had stage 3 breast cancer. “When you first hear it, you're devastated,” she said.

She quickly started on chemotherapy. Although she felt alright, scans reveled that her cancer treatment was having negative effects on her heart. “That was kind of a kick in the gut because you can read all you want about adverse events and side effects. Well, when it hits you, that's like, well, okay, now what, you know?” said Holloway.

She was referred to Cardio Oncologist Dr. Kevin Cao. Dr. Cao works with a patient’s oncologist to ensure that their cancer treatment is safe for their heart. “It's very important for us to have a good working relationship, for us to understand where I'm coming from, and for me to understand where they're coming from.”

“Dr. Cao put me on this drug regimen, which is miraculous, because then when they did another echo, they found that the heart function was actually improving, was able to sign off for the surgery,” said Holloway.

Holloway’s tumor shrunk and she was able to have it surgically removed so she could start radiation. She’ll still need to meet with Dr. Cao periodically for monitoring, but her prognosis is positive. “Very, very pleased with how things have turned out. I'm really hoping the next check we do, the heart's back to normal,” said Dr. Cao. You can learn more about cardio oncology by searching for it on leehealth.org.