Hematologists who are Physicians - Ashburn, VA

"I was a cancer patient that completed 6 month chemotherapy and one year of keytruda immunotherapy. By the beginning of 2025. Keytruda caused my eyes to become dry and vision very blurry such that  I have to use tear & other prescription drops every 1-1.5 hours.  As a result I can't drive. Dry eye has since been added to the list of potential side effects. During my appointments with a doctor when I mentioned it repeatedly , there was no acknowledgement  that it was  because of keytruda because it wasn't on the official list at the time.  The oncologist said  it must be "one of the drugs" and referred me to see my ophthalmologist, who also said the same thing and referred me back to my oncologist.  Frustrated, when I looked up online, I discovered that keytruda side effects later INCLUDED dry eyes,  which was also confirmed by my gynecological oncologist (different doctor, a surgeon), and my cornea specialist (not my ophthalmologist), whose cancer/keytruda patients have experienced the same thing. My advice is this: 1. Make a written list of potential side effects of powerful new drugs like keytruda when meeting with your doctor.       Get it in writing whenever possible. 2. If sometime after starting treatment, you suffer from something new, check against that list      and bring it up immediately with the doctor prescribing/administering that drug and with your PCP.       Listen to how they respond.  Sometimes, what they won't say or how they say it:    (There is no way it causes <x> vs There are no verified studies that shows that it causes <X>)      tells you more than what they do say. 3.  Keep checking resources to see if your new symptom appears as a side effect of the drug.  Until then,        the default response may be to refer you to your PCP or some other specialist. 4.  Keep bringing it up with all your doctors.  If you don't like how they are responding, consider consulting       another doctor in the same speciality. For whatever the reason, and to my great detriment, I was not advised early on to consider pausing or changing  my treatment while dealing with these challenges instead of stressing sticking to the treatment schedule. When you choose a doctor, ask yourself whether they will have all of your health concerns as the number one priority due to the crippling side effects of keytruda or other powerful drugs and not just treating the cancer. My new oncologist said that she would have immediately removed the keytruda therapy  with the onset of  vision problems.  It's ENTIRELY your decision (not the doctor's). If you get a response you feel that doesn't feel fully transparent or unnecessarily pressuring, or sounds like it was crafted by a lawyer, it might be time to trust your gut and research what was and wasn't said  and an alternative medical opinion."