Yaw A. Nyame, MD, MS, MBA

Tell us about an interaction with a patient that had a significant impact on you.

One weekend I was doing rounds at the hospital and I checked in on one of my patients who was in his 90s. He had an advanced genitourinary cancer, which affects the male urinary and reproductive tract. His clinical journey had been a complicated one, but he was almost ready to be discharged home. That particular morning, I was trying to get myself motivated for a 13-mile run. When I shared this with him, he said, “A long run is 10 miles for me these days.” During our conversation, I discovered that my patient was a track-and-field star and a world record-holder for his age group; he longed to get back to participating in sports. Learning this remarkable fact about him helped me to understand what services would benefit him most, and I worked tirelessly to meet his needs. The greatest pleasure of my job is getting to know my patients: understanding what drives them, exchanging stories and learning about the impact of their disease. These personal details help me provide comprehensive, individualized care.

What is your approach to care?

There are few dilemmas in life that are more challenging than a new cancer diagnosis. I’ve learned that the best solutions to complex problems like this leverage the power of a team-based approach. Your care team stretches beyond you, me and your family to include experts across a range of specialties. By working cooperatively, we strive to come up with patient-focused solutions that meet your goals and expectations for cancer care.

Provider Background

Specialty: Surgery

Area of clinical practice

Genitourinary cancers, kidney cancer

Prostate cancer, kidney cancer, other urologic cancers, urology care

I am a surgeon, researcher, educator and patient advocate who specializes in general urology care and urologic cancers. My expertise includes using open and minimally invasive surgical techniques for treating kidney, prostate, bladder and testicular cancers. In addition to caring for patients, I study health disparities in urologic cancers. My research focuses on the genetic differences in tumors across race and ethnicity as well as differences in how health care is accessed and delivered. I believe that we can create a healthy system that delivers excellent care to everyone, including our most vulnerable populations.