Anthony L. Back, MD, of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, summarizes a general session on best practices and novel tools for enhancing communication between patients and oncology providers (Abstracts 8,9, 39).
Ralph J. Hauke, MD, of Nebraska Cancer Specialists, discusses the application of scientific analysis and research to palliative care issues, which will allow better prognostication, implementation of measures, and improved quality of life.
As Steering Committee Chair of this year’s symposium, Jennifer S. Temel, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the goals and highlights of the meeting.
Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, of Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, discusses the ways in which a dedicated palliative radiation consult service can improve the quality of palliative cancer care (Abstract 110).
Vicki Jackson, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital, summarizes her keynote lecture (plenary talk).
Given the challenges of recruiting patients for palliative care studies, Eric Roeland, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses a way to increase the participation of those with cachexia, with the hope of improving treatment (Abstract 67).
