Dr. John Oertle of Envita Medical Centers Dissects the Overlooked Breast Cancer Risks on the 'Wise Divine Women' Podcast

Showing no evidence of disease in imaging after breast cancer surgery may not always indicate a cure or long-term remission. “In about 20% to 30% of cases, you do see that there are circulating cancer cells even after a stage 1 diagnosis,” said Dr. John Oertle, Chief Medical Officer of Envita Medical Centers. He explained that to see evidence of disease in scans, the tumor must be of a certain size, which is why it's crucial to investigate at a deeper, microscopic level.

Dr. Oertle explained that the ability to detect cancer cells, free flowing in the bloodstream, after breaking away from a growing tumor, allows for proactive treatment and reduces the chances of recurrence or metastatic spread. His specially trained team at Envita Medical Centers has been utilizing several in-depth tests to gain a detailed understanding of the tumor, early signs of disease spread, and its causative factors.

Emphasizing the need to gain more insight into each patient's disease for better treatment, Dr. Oertle said, “Too many times, there's an insufficient amount of data being provided to women and patients in oncology that actually limits better decision-making.” He also highlighted the role of underlying factors, such as infections, which often get overlooked in the standard oncology treatment protocols for breast cancer.

At Envita Medical Centers, Dr. Oertle and his team follow a precision integrative oncology approach that takes into account all these overlooked factors to comprehensively treat the disease and its root causative factors. To learn more about the latest studies on infections triggering breast cancer recurrence and ways to proactively treat the disease, listen to this podcast here.