University of Illinois Cancer Center member and UI Health Oncologist Karine Tawagi, MD, half of the popular “Two Onc Docs” podcast, talks about how she and her broadcasting partner Samantha Armstrong, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, got started in this Q&A feature.
How did you meet? We met at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago back in 2019 when we were both first year fellows.
What sparked the idea for the podcast? We were both studying for our hematology/oncology board exams in 2021 wishing there were quick episodes we could listen to on our commute to work, or making our morning coffee, since the field is changing at such a rapid pace. A lot of other similar podcasts existed in other areas of medicine like OB/GYN, internal medicine, general surgery, etc.
How long have you been recording episodes? We started this podcast a few months after we took our own board exams in 2022, so it has been just over two years now.
How do you see the podcast growing in upcoming years? We have been bringing in some guest experts who are legends in the fields for practical tips on different diseases, as well as pearls for trainees. We hope to expand our supportive care topics and are always thinking of different formats.
What has been your favorite podcast episode so far? Our guest lecture episode with Larry Einhorn, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, was definitely a highlight. He pioneered the treatment of testicular cancer, and it was so inspiring to hear his story, and hear about the first patient that he treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
How do you pick topics for each episode? We try to cover the most testable topics on the exams from a list that is available, we get feedback from our listeners as well, many of whom are current hematology/oncology fellows. The field is changing so quickly, that our episodes are often out of date a year later, so we update those topics as well.
During the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, “Two Onc Docs” partnered with OncLive On Air to discuss the results of the phase 3 LAURA trial (NCT03521154), which were presented by Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, FACP, FASCO, of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Armstrong and Tawagi shared lung cancer staging tips, highlighted key findings from LAURA and discussed questions raised by the trial’s design and its findings.