Okwuosa TM, Yakupovich A
As cancer patients live longer, many of them are dying from heart disease as a result of the intense oncologic treatment which they received prior. Cardio-oncology has gained significant momentum as a subspecialty able to bridge the field of cardiology and oncology, ensuring that oncology patients with heart disease receive necessary lifesaving oncology therapy, while their heart disease is being managed in order to prevent cardiovascular sequelae. Nonetheless, establishing a cardio-oncology program has its challenges, including decisions on clinic location, roles of clinic staff, in-patient consultation services, lack of mentorship, lack of guidelines for clinical practice, and so on. This paper hopes to address some of these issues by providing physicians interested in pursuing a career in cardio-oncology, as well as administrators interested in creating a cardio-oncology program, an outline of what to expect when attempting to build a successful practice.
