Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, is the director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital and chief of Breast Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center.
A medical oncologist, Dr. Lustberg says she loved science and the humanities in high school and college. “Studying biochemistry in college, I knew I didn’t want to always be in the lab and realized that the practice of medicine allowed me to take the best of science and invest in patients,” she says. “I had multiple family members over the years who had cancer and always appreciated the relationships they formed with their physicians."
In medical school, she shadowed a breast cancer physician. “She knew her patients so well and they trusted her. It wasn’t just, ‘Here’s your treatment,’ but talking to them about their lives and their goals and their families," Dr. Lustberg adds.
Today, Dr. Lustberg says she takes that patient-centered approach to heart. “I really enjoy the longitudinal relationships we can develop with cancer patients. Not all of our patients do well, and the losses we feel deeply, but at all stages, we can work with patients and families for a long time and I enjoy that,” she says.
Dr. Lustberg treats all stages and types of breast cancer, and her research focuses on quality of life, symptom management, and toxicity. “It’s a field I am passionate about and something I can integrate in my inpatient and outpatient care,” she says.
When working with a patient who has a new diagnosis of breast cancer, Dr. Lustberg says she understands that to many, they are learning a new language. “They may already have a lot of information but it may have washed over them and now it’s time to regroup after they’ve had a little time to process,” she says. “I review the diagnosis and what it means and spend a lot of time reviewing treatment options. I always emphasize that this isn’t the only time we will talk about options, as there are a lot of new ones coming out.”
Additionally, Dr. Lustberg says she makes a point to stop the conversation and ensure that her patient and their family members understand what she is saying and to ask if they need her to stop, slow down, or answer additional questions.
“I believe in shared decision-making and acknowledge that we as physicians can always do a better job at communicating with our patients. I will do everything I can to make sure their needs are being met,” she says.
