2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium
Combating Untreated Cancer-Related Pain
The problem of pain management facing clinicians today is twofold: how to ensure safe and effective treatment for patients with cancer in chronic pain, while avoiding the overuse of opioid medication...
Research Highlights From the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium
More than 650 attendees gathered in San Francisco on September 9 and 10 for the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, focusing on the theme of “Patient-Centered Care Across the Cancer Continuum....
Quality Improvement Project Results in Timelier Hospice Referrals
A quality improvement project conducted within the OhioHealth system showed that oncologists can change their behavior and refer patients earlier to hospice care. After a relatively minor interventio...
Food as Medicine: Study Sets Out to Prove Its Effectiveness
Could the quality of life of patients with advanced-stage cancer be improved by personal delivery of nutritious, medically tailored meals? Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine Per...
Dexamethasone Mouth Rinse Should Be Routine Part of Everolimus Treatment
Dexamethasone mouth rinse should be given prophylactically to prevent stomatitis associated with everolimus (Afinitor)/exemestane in metastatic breast cancer, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, principal...
Palliative Care Still in Its Infancy in Hematologic Malignancies
Palliative care is slowly but surely being integrated into the treatment of patients with solid tumors, but its role in the hematopoietic stem cell transplant setting is still lagging, speakers said a...
Why Care About the Caregivers?
Caregivers of patients with cancer provide invaluable health-care services, but they are an underserved and undervalued group, with many unmet needs. Early palliative care may provide important benef...
Benefits of Early Palliative Care Interventions Extend Beyond the Patient
A session at the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium focused on the special needs of cancer caregivers. In a large survey, caregivers of persons with cancer reported higher levels of stress and...
Palliative Care: Let’s Use the Tools We Already Have
Clinicians and researchers in the field of palliative and supportive care are enjoying the recognition the field is now receiving and expecting the future to be ripe with opportunity. But one thought ...
Pearls for Managing Immune-Related Toxicities
With checkpoint inhibitors in frequent use, clinicians strive daily to balance the efficacy and toxicity of these treatments. At the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, Lynn M. Schuchter, MD,...
Immunotherapy Brings Unique Challenges for Clinicians
The advent of immunotherapies has created a number of interesting challenges for oncology providers. At the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, specialists in the field tackled these issues. ...
Bridging the Gap in Oncology Care
The third annual Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, held on September 9–10, 2016, in San Francisco, California, brought together more than 650 attendees from multiple countries, including the Unit...
Randy L. Wei, MD, PhD, on Radiation Oncologists and Palliative Care
Randy L. Wei, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Irvine, discusses findings from a survey that focused on ASTRO members who assessed their ability to deliver palliative and supportive care, and...
Sriram Yennu, MD, on Patient Perception of Curability
Sriram Yennu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses findings from a study of an international cohort of patients with advanced cancer who received palliative care. Nearly...
Stephen T. Sonis, DMD, DMSc, on Radiotherapy-Induced Oral Complications
Stephen T. Sonis, DMD, DMSc, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and scope of oral complications of radiation therapy.
Jennifer S. Temel, MD, on The Changing Conversation Around Prognostication
Jennifer S. Temel, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses increasing prognostic uncertainty in light of targeted treatments and immunotherapies, and the difficulty predicting who will benefi...
Scott A. Irwin, MD, PhD, on Dealing With Delirium
Scott A. Irwin, MD, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai’s Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, discusses delirium—its definition, prevalence, consequences, assessment, and management.
Eric Roeland, MD: Expert Perspective on Palliative Care in Oncology Meeting Highlights
Eric Roeland, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses the key papers presented at this year’s Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium.
Emily Haozous, PhD, RN, on Cultural Differences in End-of-Life Care
Emily Haozous, PhD, RN, of the University of New Mexico, discusses health disparities and cultural differences in palliative and end-of-life care, with case study examples drawn from American Indian c...
Eileen Danaher Hacker, PhD, APN, AOCN: After Stem Cell Transplant: Enhancing Recovery With Strength Training
Eileen Danaher Hacker, PhD, APN, AOCN, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, discusses study findings that show improvement in physical activity, fatigue, muscle strength, and functional ability (...
Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, on Referrals for Hospice Care: A Quality Improvement Approach
Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, of OhioHealth, discusses hospice care as a measure of quality, and findings that show medical oncologists doubled the median length of hospice service from 20 days to 4...
Joseph A. Greer, PhD, on An App for Adherence to Oral Chemotherapy
Joseph A. Greer, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the development of a mobile application to address treatment adherence and symptoms (Abstract 104).
Areej El-Jawahri, MD, on Hematologic Malignancies: Integrating Palliative Care in Treatment
Areej El-Jawahri, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses ways in which palliative care can reduce symptoms, improve quality of life, reduce depression and anxiety, and potentially optimize e...
J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, PhD, on Supporting Family Caregivers: The ENABLE Model
J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, discusses the “hidden” health-care workforce of family caregivers and what clinicians can do to help ease the burden on famili...
James F. Cleary, MD, on Global Access to Opioids
James F. Cleary, MD, of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, talks about the many reasons that 80% of the world’s population lacks access to opioids, the mainstay of cancer pain manageme...
Tracy A. Balboni, MD, MPH, on Managing Spinal Metastases With Radiation Therapy
Tracy A. Balboni, MD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, talks about how to preserve quality of life in the presence of complex spinal lesions, including novel ways to assess spinal instability...
Eduardo Bruera, MD, on Managing Opioid Use in Patients With a History of Addiction
Eduardo Bruera, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the need for outpatient palliative care programs to monitor and support these complex patients and their family memb...
Charles D. Blanke, MD, on Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act
Charles D. Blanke, MD, of the Oregon Health & Science University and Southwest Oncology Group, discusses the nearly 20 years’ experience with Oregon’s Death With Dignity (DWD) Act, a voter initiat...
