Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
Observational StudyFactors related to Adherence to Opioids in Black Patients with Cancer Pain.
Cancer pain relief is often inadequate because of poor adherence to pain medication, especially for black patients. ⋯ Findings confirm pain medication adherence is poor and pain was not well relieved. Multiple factors influence adherence to around-the-clock opioids. Clinicians need to partner with patients by providing a personalized pain treatment plan including an in-depth assessment of treatment choices and adherence.
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Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for older individuals. Palliative care is essential to improve the outcome of cancer treatment in terms of quality of life and treatment satisfaction. This review examines the influence of spirituality on aging in general and on the management of older cancer patients. ⋯ Gerotranscendence, the more urgent search for meaning by older than younger individuals, confirms the importance of spirituality in this phase of life. Spirituality has also improved the quality of life and reduced the risk of disease and death for the patient's caregiver. Addressing patient and caregiver spirituality may render the palliative care of cancer more effective and may also aid in detection and management of spiritual pain, which may prevent healing at the end of life.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
Managing chronic pain in cancer survivors prescribed long-term opioid therapy: a national survey of ambulatory palliative care providers.
Chronic pain, or pain lasting more than three months, is common among cancer survivors, who are often prescribed long-term opioid therapy (LTOT). ⋯ Palliative care providers are comfortable with many aspects of managing chronic pain in cancer survivors on LTOT, although challenges persist, including the lack of systems-based approaches and training in addiction treatment.
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PC-FACS (Fast Article Critical Summaries for Clinicians in Palliative Care) provides hospice and palliative care clinicians with concise summaries of the most important findings from more than 100 medical and scientific journals. If you have colleagues who would benefit from receiving PCFACS, please encourage them to join the AAHPM at aahpm.org. Comments from readers are welcomed at pc-facs@aahpm.org.