Fumiko Ladd Chino, MD, of Duke University, discusses results from a population study she conducted of the opioid epidemic over the past 10 years and why these medications for cancer pain should continue to be excluded from restrictive-prescribing laws (Abstract 230).
Monika K. Krzyzanowska, MD, MPH, of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, summarized the Keynote Lecture, including the points that clinicians should carefully plan their quality improvement projects, understand the barriers to quality, and ensure their efforts are sustainable.
Angela M. Stover, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses study findings on ways to alert clinicians when patients signal symptoms such as pain or diarrhea that may be cause for concern (Abstract 158).
Jeremy Warner, MD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the ways in which patient navigators affect cancer care and how patients benefit.
Lauren P. Wallner, PhD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, discusses her findings from a population-based study, which showed that many patients believe they had no choice about whether or not to receive radioactive iodine, even though it often does not improve survival. There is a need, she says, for better shared decision-making (Abstract 159).
Jay B. Shah, MD, of Stanford University, discusses the role that surgeons can play as gatekeepers to the opioid epidemic, including the view that complex cancer operations can be performed with little to no opioid use (Abstract 269).
