Week 3- Zuzanna

This week I was able to see some surgeries which was very interesting as it was the first time I had observed any. I was able to observe breast cancer related surgeries, including a masectomy and lupectomy.  It was definitely shocking at first to see the surgeries and the removal of tissue, but after watching a few I was able to recognize what the steps were and what they were aiming to do. Each surgery was a little different, due to either the preferences of the patient or the methods of doctors involved. First, I saw a bilateral masectomy, and I was surprised how many people were involved, from nurses to PAs, to pathology and oncology and plastic surgery- it was quite tight in the room! Some patients prefer to have breast reconstruction done, but this patient also had her implants removed and with her specific history, preferred not to reconstruct. Another surgery I saw only removed a mass, but required removal of the nipple due to the proximity. The next one however removed only a mass, but without affecting the nipples. It was really interesting how many methods of removal there are, but even the methods of tumor localization. Some patients had a radioactive seed locating the mass, some had a staples, and some had wires sticking out of their chest locating that. I did not realize how many methods there are for localization but it depends partly on the patient and partly on the radiologists preferred method of marking a tumor. Watching the whole process really gave me an idea of the morphology of the disease and methods of resection. My research in Ithaca concerns making immunotherapeutic hydrogels to place next to tumors to improve immune infiltration, and seeing these surgeries gave me an idea of how realistic applying those may be given various situations.

I also continued to shadow in clinic this week and we had a few very interesting cases where I learned more about how chemotherapy and immunotherapy can be combined, or even given consecutively, but with certain risk factors that can make it difficult for a patient and doctor to decide next steps with the risks and benefits.

In the lab I continued to analyze some cancer organoid images and some next steps in the project.