For many patients with advanced melanoma and lung cancer, checkpoint inhibitors have been a godsend, helping to extend survival to previously unthinkable lengths. While the impression is that checkpoint inhibitors are free of adverse effects, in reality, clinicians strive daily to balance the efficacy and toxicity of these treatments. At [ Read More ]
At the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, the message was clear and emphatic: We should care about caregivers as both co-deliverers and co-recipients of healthcare services. “Despite providing essential home and healthcare services, cancer caregivers are underserved and undervalued while facing a multitude of unmet needs,†said J. Nicholas [ Read More ]
A simple quality improvement project to increase duration of hospice care for patients has doubled hospice length of stay, reaching the national median in 1 year. Conducted within the OhioHealth system, this relatively minor intervention suggests that oncologists can change their behavior and refer patients earlier to hospice care. “We [ Read More ]
Although symptom management is a cornerstone of high-quality cancer care, according to data presented at the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, clinicians often miss the incidence of patients’ symptoms or underestimate their magnitude. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), which are direct reports from patients themselves about their symptoms, physical functioning, or [ Read More ]
Recent approvals of several checkpoint inhibitors across multiple cancer settings have brought more than just new and improved treatments to the clinic. According to David R. Spigel, MD, Chief Scientific Officer at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, the rapid ascent of immunotherapy has created unexpected problems, too. At the 2016 [ Read More ]
