Mary E. Johnson on Holding Vigil With Dying Loved Ones
2018 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium
Mary E. Johnson, author of Stay With Me Awhile, discusses her play, a compilation of vigil stories from across cultures and religions, and the profound impact the performances have had on audience members.
Mary K. Buss, MD, MPH, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Candice A. Johnstone, MD, MPH, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, discuss a session they co-chaired on the perspective of stakeholders on the cost of cancer care, what drives patients’ preferences when faced with mounting medical bills, and interventions to improve transparency.
Betty R. Ferrell, PhD, of City of Hope, discusses the many advances in immunotherapy and the drugs’ effect on patients’ quality of life, including psychological well-being.
Katherine C. Lee, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses her study findings that showed older patients with metastatic cancer who survived emergency general surgery experienced higher intensity end-of-life care than similar patients who did not undergo surgery (Abstract 56).
Leslie J. Blackhall, MD, of the University of Virginia, discusses abuse of opioids, prescribing responsibly, and reducing cancer pain while also decreasing the risk of misusing these agents.
Mihir M. Kamdar, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses study findings on a smartphone app called ePAL, which significantly reduces pain and pain-related hospital admissions by combining patient-reported outcome data and artificial intelligence via a telemedicine platform (Abstract 76).