Margolis, Jeffrey H., M.D.

Jeffrey Margolis, M.D., board-certified in medical oncology and part of the Oakland Medical Group division of Michigan Healthcare Professionals, says there have been challenges for cancer patients over the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People being treated for cancer are particularly at risk, and there also have been delays in diagnosis because things have been shut down as a result of the pandemic,” Dr. Margolis says. “At MHP, we’ve taken a number of precautions and steps to help keep our patients safe and make sure they’re receiving important and timely treatments.”

Michigan Healthcare Professionals — the largest private practice in Michigan, with multiple specialties including medical oncology, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology — now provides concierge service, requires patients and staff to wear masks, and is making sure staff members are getting vaccinated. Because cancer patients are more susceptible to becoming very sick with COVID, MHP doctors participated in clinical trials for early treatments of the disease.

“We’re making more personal phone calls and following up with patients to make sure they’re having diagnostic testing done in an expeditious fashion, and we’re doing more tele-medical visits when possible, so people don’t have to come into the office when it’s not totally necessary,” Dr. Margolis says.

There also have been plenty of positive changes in cancer treatments during Dr. Margolis’ 24 years in medicine.

“What continues to change in oncology is what we call next-generation sequencing,” says Dr. Margolis, who earned his medical degree from the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland. “This is a process that we use to look at the cancer genome, and we try to customize and target each patient’s treatment. We’re finding are more effective and efficient treatments than we’ve ever had before, and we’re seeing better results. We now identify very specific types of cancers; with these types of cancers come their own specific treatments — and it’s making a huge difference.”

Dr. Margolis is also a professor at Oakland University’s William Beaumont Medical School, and a clinical assistant professor at Michigan State University.