Dr. Carey Highlight
This article appeared in the MD News April/May 2010 issue.
Endocrine gland tumors can cause a variety of symptoms due to the hormones that they secrete. Colleen Carey, MD, joined Cancer Care Northwest in January and is focusing on caring for patients working in collaboration with her specialized oncology colleagues.
What has been the primary focus of your practice prior to your move to Cancer Care Northwest, and what inspired your move?
Prior to joining Cancer Care Northwest, I practiced general endocrinology, treating a broad range of conditions, including diabetes, adrenal and thyroid disease, pituitary gland tumors and pituitary dysfunction, parathyroid disease and osteoporosis. I became especially interested in tumors arising in endocrine glands and tumors that produce hormones, such as insulin and ACTH, which contribute to the patients’ morbidity and mortality.
Over the years of my practice, I saw an increasing number of thyroid cancer patients. Thyroid cancer has traditionally been managed by endocrinologists. The treatment paradigm is evolving to rely on the blood tumor marker Thyroglobulin, high resolution ultrasonography of the neck, neck lymph node fine needle aspiration, targeted surgery, and more selective use of radioiodine. Additionally, new chemotherapeutic agents such as the receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Sunitinib and Sorafenib, show promise in patients with aggressive thyroid cancer not responsive to radioiodine therapy. These patients need coordinated care by both endocrinologists and oncologists.
Why are these areas of particular interest to you?
Endocrine gland tumors present a wide range of symptoms and physical findings and their diagnosis can be challenging. For example, there can be striking differences in presentation of the same type of tumor from one patient to the next. There are increasingly sophisticated tools with which to diagnose endocrine tumors, including more assays to measure tumor products and more imaging techniques such as receptor targeted scintigraphy to localize tumors. These tools make managing endocrine tumors gratifying.
Do you feel your move to Cancer Care Northwest has placed you in and environment suitable to continuing your work caring for patients with endocrine gland tumors?
Very much so. Bringing the perspective of the endocrinologist to endocrine cancers is important because you have to deal not only with the tumor, but the long term management of the endocrine problem consequent to the tumor. For example, chemotherapy may restrain tumor growth but not control hormone overproduction. That’s where I come in, so that the endocrinologist and oncologist are working together. If treatment involves removal of a gland, then lifelong hormone replacement and monitoring are needed by the endocrinologist. At Cancer Care Northwest, I can discuss the cases with my colleagues, present cases at tumor boards and draw on the experience of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists. The environment is very supportive of collaboration among physicians and staff and this leads to excellent care for the patients.