Meet Dr. Henry Park
December 06, 2021Meet Dr. Henry Park
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Information
Dr. Park discusses his role as a radiation oncologist caring for patients with lung and head and neck cancers.
ID7244
To CiteDCA Citation Guide
- 00:00Hi, my name is Henry Park and I'm a
- 00:03radiation oncologist here at Yale.
- 00:05I treat cancers of the lung and
- 00:06the head and neck so I chose
- 00:09radiation oncology as a specialty,
- 00:10mostly because of the relationships
- 00:12I have with patients.
- 00:13I really enjoy the ability to cure
- 00:15many patients cancers and if I'm not
- 00:17able to cure their cancer then to at
- 00:19least relieve their symptoms to improve
- 00:21their quality of life and to extend
- 00:23their survival as much as possible.
- 00:25I think radiation therapy has improved
- 00:27substantially in the past ten years in
- 00:29terms of its accuracy and precision.
- 00:31Both with imaging as well as the
- 00:33actual delivery of radiation therapy.
- 00:34We've also learned how to combine
- 00:36radiation even better with what's
- 00:37called systemic therapy or novel
- 00:39drugs that include immunotherapy.
- 00:40So we're I think achieving some
- 00:42of the best outcomes that we've
- 00:43seen in history when it comes to
- 00:45treating some kind of cancers.
- 00:47I think patients can help a lot by at
- 00:49the initial consultations by bringing
- 00:50family and friends to the visit,
- 00:53or at least having them listen in.
- 00:55I think it's very useful to have
- 00:57a second set of ears at least
- 00:59two to hear what's going on.
- 01:01I think it's important that patients
- 01:03ask clarifying questions or to fill in
- 01:05any any missing gaps that we have as
- 01:07well so that they really have a full
- 01:09understanding of what's what's going on
- 01:11and what the risks and benefits are.
- 01:13I'd like them to be sure that they
- 01:15they are very comfortable in any
- 01:17decision they make about treatment.
- 01:19I'd like my patients to know that I pay
- 01:21very close attention to the details,
- 01:23but also try to keep a big picture
- 01:25view on how the cancer and the
- 01:27treatment of cancer fits into a
- 01:29patients overall life.