Dr. Bekelman helped launch UPenn’s Cancer Care at Home program during the pandemic, allowing patients the option to receive chemotherapy or immunotherapy at home rather than in a hospital or clinic. Before the pandemic, the program’s vision was to change the status quo of cancer care and deliver up to 20% of therapies in the patient’s home. However, the pandemic grew the program 700% in just 6 weeks as immunocompromised patients saw an opportunity to receive treatment at home rather than risking exposure to COVID-19 in a clinic. Dr. Bekelman hopes to normalize home infusion and expand this treatment across the country.

Ms. Ledezma and Dr. Lopez both expressed their appreciation for telehealth, Ms. Ledezma as a cancer survivor and Dr. Lopez as a provider. Dr. Lopez highlighted telehealth as a valuable innovation that increased in popularity during the pandemic and helped providers meet patients where they were. However, she cautioned against its ability to fuel disparities and shared ways that her cancer center sought to ease barriers. Since every person may not have a device with the best capacity, her cancer center helped patients access telehealth by providing technical assistance as needed, and utilizing grant funding they received to provide devices with internet to patients who needed them.

Dr. Day-Vines introduced the audience to the start-up company Hurdle, for which she is a clinical advisor, which provides culturally intentional tele-mental health services for Black, Indigenous,and people of color. She cited alarming statistics that 50% of counseling sessions with minorities end prematurely, which can be attributed to the fact that these populations do not feel understood or heard when they receive mental health services. She also highlighted the stigma around counseling that is present in the Black community and the importance of centering patients’ issues around race, ethnicity, and culture rather than avoiding them.

Looking toward the future, the panelists explored new innovative ways to provide and improve cancer care. Dr. Day-Vines argued that leveraging group counseling could be incredibly beneficial to cancer patients struggling with mental health issues and fatigue, as they could interact with and learn from fellow cancer survivors at different stages. Accessing group therapy on an online platform would help normalize the helplessness and hopelessness that some survivors experience and allow survivors to draw support from others experiencing the same issues without leaving home. She also advocated for the establishment of pipeline programs to enhance cultural responsiveness and diversity in the healthcare field, and especially among doctors. She emphasized the importance of patients having the ability to receive care from people who look like them to encourage trust and eliminate fear of the healthcare system that may exist for people of color.

Dr. Lopez emphasized the need for increased community engagement and partnership,especially by leveraging community health workers who have established trust with patients, to encourage an openness between health care providers and minority communities. She also mentioned the existence of technology that is not yet widely available that would allow providers to examine patients and complete a full exam without being in the same room. These current examples and future ideas could go a long way in improving cancer care if adopted widely.