Treating serious diseases such as cancer effectively requires skilled medical specialists in each field along with advanced medical technology. As medical technology advances rapidly, treatments that once carried heavy burdens are now being performed with greater precision and safety. Lung tumors too small to access through general examinations can now be diagnosed by collecting tissue with a robotic endoscope. In addition, early-stage colorectal cancer can now be removed with a colonoscopy alone, without making incisions in the abdomen. As robotic surgery becomes widespread, lung cancer and esophageal cancer can be removed through small incisions, and advances in targeted therapies have greatly reduced the burden of side effects such as hair loss.
As new diagnostic and treatment methods and various therapeutic agents are introduced and medical technology advances rapidly, the specialized knowledge that medical staff must acquire continues to grow. Problems that can be solved within one's own specialty pose little difficulty. However, in complex situations requiring the expertise of multiple departments, it is often difficult to immediately determine the optimal course of treatment. Traditionally, the method of requesting consultations from other departments was used. However, this can delay treatment decisions because the patient must make an additional visit to the outpatient clinic of that department and then wait for a reply. In addition, written communication makes it difficult to fully share the patient's condition and treatment intentions and to continue in-depth discussions.
The Cancer Institute at Asan Medical Center, where I work, introduced Korea's first patient-facing integrated cancer care in 2006 to overcome these limitations, and many medical staff still actively participate to this day. This can be regarded as the starting point of the multidisciplinary care now used in various fields. The participating departments vary depending on the type of cancer. In the case of lung cancer, medical staff from seven or more departments—including pulmonology, radiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, and rehabilitation medicine—gather in a large consultation room to discuss diagnosis and treatment plans together. Multidisciplinary discussion itself has long been conducted in the form of in-hospital conferences. However, integrated cancer care does not stop at medical staff exchanging opinions among themselves. Above all, the difference is significant in that the patient is at the center of the discussion process. Specialists from various fields explain the diagnosis and treatment direction to the patient and their family in one place and, through real-time discussion, decide on the final treatment plan together.
Integrated cancer care is fundamentally additional work for the participating medical staff. Since it requires separate time and effort on top of existing clinical care, research, and educational activities, they inevitably feel a considerable burden. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years, integrated cancer care at the Cancer Institute of Asan Medical Center has seen a steady increase in both participating medical staff and the number of sessions. What is the reason? It is because the greatest value of integrated cancer care lies in the fact that, in the process of specialists from various fields considering together the most appropriate treatment strategy for an individual patient, they can understand one another's perspectives and the basis for their judgments. Such experiences become an occasion to build trust and empathy toward one another. The process of collaborating toward a single treatment goal not only provides better care to patients but can also awaken a deep sense of camaraderie among medical staff.
The most important purpose of integrated cancer care is to provide the best treatment to cancer patients. But the process also becomes an opportunity for medical staff to learn from one another and grow. This is why many medical staff willingly participate in integrated cancer care even amid busy clinical schedules. In the process of sharing one another's expertise and experience and deliberating together, the gaps in knowledge between medical staff narrow. This can lead to the fruit of better treatment for patients.
