As community care teams work to provide equitable care for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), understanding disparities as well as state and region-specific barriers that impact care is critical. CANCER BUZZ speaks with Adam Kittai, MD, hematologist, and assistant professor at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute about ongoing research efforts to examine these disparities and ensuring equitable access to care for patients with CLL.

“In order to make a dent in cancer health equity, you need to have multi-level approach, including assessing what the problem is, implementing research that is small but additive, and focusing on the areas of the most unmet need. If we start to focus on the barriers that our patients experience, one patient at a time, we should be able to make a difference–if you focus on each patient in front of you and work on solving those barriers and [determining] reasons why they may not be getting equitable care as opposed to their cohorts.” – Adam Kittai, MD, hematologist, and assistant professor at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center- The James

This podcast was created in connection with the education program A Regional Approach to Advancing Care for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients. This episode is supported by AstraZeneca, Janssen Oncology, and Pharmacyclics.

Guest:

Adam Kittai, MD

Hematologist and Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center- The James

Resources:

Multidisciplinary Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Care (accc-cancer.org)

Quality Improvement Case Studies

CLL: Models of Effective Care Delivery

Podcast EP 57: COVID-19 Challenges: Managing Patients with CLL

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) (cancer.org)

Addressing Racial Disparities in CLL Care - Patient Empowerment Network (powerfulpatients.org)

CLL Resources - CLL Society