Meet Dr. Henry Park

Transcript

• 00:00Hi, my name is Henry Park and I'm a
• 00:03radiation oncologist here at Yale.
• 00:05I treat cancers of the lung and
• 00:06the head and neck so I chose
• 00:09radiation oncology as a specialty,
• 00:10mostly because of the relationships
• 00:12I have with patients.
• 00:13I really enjoy the ability to cure
• 00:15many patients cancers and if I'm not
• 00:17able to cure their cancer then to at
• 00:19least relieve their symptoms to improve
• 00:21their quality of life and to extend
• 00:23their survival as much as possible.
• 00:25I think radiation therapy has improved
• 00:27substantially in the past ten years in
• 00:29terms of its accuracy and precision.
• 00:31Both with imaging as well as the
• 00:33actual delivery of radiation therapy.
• 00:34We've also learned how to combine
• 00:36radiation even better with what's
• 00:37called systemic therapy or novel
• 00:39drugs that include immunotherapy.
• 00:40So we're I think achieving some
• 00:42of the best outcomes that we've
• 00:43seen in history when it comes to
• 00:45treating some kind of cancers.
• 00:47I think patients can help a lot by at
• 00:49the initial consultations by bringing
• 00:50family and friends to the visit,
• 00:53or at least having them listen in.
• 00:55I think it's very useful to have
• 00:57a second set of ears at least
• 00:59two to hear what's going on.
• 01:01I think it's important that patients
• 01:03ask clarifying questions or to fill in
• 01:05any any missing gaps that we have as
• 01:07well so that they really have a full
• 01:09understanding of what's what's going on
• 01:11and what the risks and benefits are.
• 01:13I'd like them to be sure that they
• 01:15they are very comfortable in any
• 01:17decision they make about treatment.
• 01:19I'd like my patients to know that I pay
• 01:21very close attention to the details,
• 01:23but also try to keep a big picture
• 01:25view on how the cancer and the
• 01:27treatment of cancer fits into a
• 01:29patients overall life.