Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2006
ReviewBringing palliative care to a Canadian cancer center: the palliative care program at Princess Margaret Hospital.
It is increasingly recognized that complete care of the patient with cancer includes palliative care, which is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with life-prolonging treatment. Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) is Canada's largest center for cancer care and research, and it is an international referral center for patients with cancer. The Palliative Care Program at PMH has developed into a comprehensive clinical, educational, and research program, with an acute palliative care unit, daily palliative care clinics, a cancer pain clinic, and a consultation service that sees urgent consultations on a same-day basis in inpatient and outpatient areas. We will describe the components, successes, and challenges of our program, which may be useful for others, who are developing palliative care programs in an academic setting.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2006
Progressive disease in patients with cancer presenting to an emergency room with acute symptoms predicts short-term mortality.
Patients with symptomatic, advanced cancer continue to be referred late or not at all for hospice or palliative care. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine whether evidence of cancer progression is an independent predictor of short-term mortality in acutely symptomatic cancer patients. ⋯ Cancer disease progression is a clinical measure of increased risk of short-term mortality in acutely symptomatic cancer patients. Future studies should examine whether the use of this characteristic enhances identification of patients who could benefit from timely referral to hospice or palliative care. Symptomatic cancer patients presenting to a cancer center emergency room were more likely to die within 14, 90, or 180 days if they had evidence of recent progression of their cancer. Among patients with disease progression, 47% died within 90 days and 61% within 180 days.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2006
Ways of understanding the encounter with head and neck cancer patients in the hospital dental team--a phenomenographic study.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy in the world. Fifty percent of the patients can be cured by surgery, radiotherapy or a combination approach. Head and neck cancer is life-threatening, and treatment may leave the patient with visible facial disfigurements and impairment of functions such as speech and eating. This affects not only the patient, but may arouse difficult feelings in the treatment staff. Dental personnel are involved in all facets of treatment, yet they have no specific training in cancer care. ⋯ Twenty members of hospital dental teams were interviewed. The interviews focused on experiences of the encounter with head and neck cancer patients. A qualitative research approach, phenomenography, was used in analysing the interviews. The encounter was perceived in three qualitatively different ways: as an act of caring, as a serious and responsible task and as an overwhelming emotional situation. The results indicate that hospital dental personnel are not able to lean on education and professional training in finding ways of dealing with situations with strong emotional impact. This has implications for the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer, as well as education of dental personnel.