The treatment of individuals with breast cancer is complex due to our improved understanding of cancer biology and the increasing number of cancer therapies that are available to patients. Many specialties, including surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists, make up the team that determines the best strategy for local and systemic management for an individual with breast cancer. However, based on treatment options and the potential side effects from cancer therapy, additional health care providers may be required to optimize care, including primary care providers, specialists (eg, cardiology and endocrinology), nurses, pharmacists, and, potentially, physiotherapists to address some of the consequences from surgery. When treating the whole person, the challenge lies in bringing all of these health care providers together to implement the best possible care.

One approach used by many centers is multidisciplinary rounds, where different specialists meet as a group to discuss patients and the issues that may have arisen during their care, as well as any potential issues that may arise in the future. Examples of topics that are discussed during multidisciplinary rounds include managing toxicity that a patient experiences during cancer treatment, determining patient eligibility for a clinical trial, and finding the next treatment after a patient’s disease has progressed. The multidisciplinary management of the adverse effects of cancer treatment can be important because the prompt recognition and management of these toxicities are vital for continuing potential curative or life-sustaining treatment. Another example of how multidisciplinary rounds may be helpful is in determining the best and safest treatment for an individual with multiple, complex medical conditions. While we are focused mostly on HR+/HER2- disease here, let us say that we have a heart transplant patient who develops HER2+ disease, and we want to know what the best treatment options are. A multidisciplinary team consisting of radiation and medical oncologists, cardiologists, surgeons, pharmacists, and nurses needs to determine the impact that breast cancer treatment will have on this individual’s heart transplant, including any possible drug-drug interactions between the heart medication and the cancer drugs. A well-functioning team can work with its members to draw upon their areas of expertise in order to improve patient care. 

Implementing multidisciplinary approaches to patient care can be challenging in certain settings, such as in rural and underserved areas. However, the challenges that we faced with COVID-19 taught us that high-quality care does not have to be restricted to in-person meetings at academic and high-tier institutions. COVID-19 has forced us to rethink how we can use technologies to advance patient care with the implementation of different strategies, such as telehealth and virtual visits. The use of connective technology will permit health care providers to bring care to patients closer to their homes rather than patients traveling to health care facilities. Multidisciplinary rounds consisting of relevant stakeholders will facilitate the discussion and planning of cancer treatment strategies for the “whole” person, taking into account existing medical conditions and comorbidities.