Cutting-edge research, patient care and respect with Dr. Chaitanya Iragavarapu

For this week’s Making the Rounds, we interviewed Chaitanya Iragavarapu, MD, a board-certified hematologist at the Markey Cancer Center. Dr. Iragavarapu is a member of the Hematology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation team where he treats leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, clotting and bleeding disorders. 

We recently chatted with Dr. Iragavarapu about the cutting-edge clinical research and treatment going on at Markey as well as his patient-care philosophy and more.

Why is working at a place like Markey so special? 

In all of medicine, specifically in the field of cancer medicine, the need to continuously improve on what we're doing in the care of our patients is very, very important. Both basic science research and clinical research play a huge role in how we take care of our patients. 

The Markey Cancer Center is an NCI-Designated Cancer Center, which gives us the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. This allows us to provide our patients not just with standard-of-care treatment, but also with cutting-edge clinical research that allows us to improve upon what we're doing.

Tell us about your patient-care philosophy.

From a science standpoint, the biggest differentiator between me and the person who's sitting in front of me is that it's their first cancer, and it's not my first person with cancer. From the very outset, what I try to do is try to focus on the person and not their cancer. 

What’s your favorite part of your job?

The coolest part of my job is getting to meet new people from all walks of life. This helps me realize that we're all part of this one human condition. We might come from different backgrounds, we might have different ideas on certain aspects of life, but when it comes to the alleviation of human suffering, we all have commonalities. 

Respect for the patient experience is paramount, and that is true for me as the physician but also my phenomenal team. We're all invested in this, which is trying to improve what the patient is dealing with.

Watch our full interview with Dr. Iragavarapu.