A Therapeutic Alliance: Managing Cancer-Related Pain

OncLive Chairman, Mike Hennessy

OncLive Chairman,

Mike Hennessy

I am always in awe of how patients with cancer handle a diagnosis and ensuing treatments with such determination and grace. For some of these individuals, that means not complaining to their doctors and nurses about their side effects, even though these symptoms can be quite severe and, in the case of pain, debilitating.

It doesn’t have to be that way—nor should it be—stresses oncology clinical nurse specialist and pain consultant Jeannine Brant. Oncology Nursing News® caught up with Brant at the 34th Annual CFS™ Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium™ where she shared information gleaned from her many years alleviating pain in patients and survivors.

We spotlight these insights and tips for your practice in this month’s cover story. Brant’s takeaway message for her peers is to listen carefully to your patients, encouraging them to speak frankly about their symptoms so they can get the support they need.

Patients who experience them describe chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and hair loss as among cancer’s worst side effects and the ones they fear most. In this issue, we offer some good news on both fronts, as new anti-CINV therapies are proving especially effective in preventing vomiting, and scalp cooling technology to prevent alopecia is growing apace, following on promising research reported at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Also in this issue, we learn that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is not just for your patients. When a MBSR program was adapted to fit the schedule of busy healthcare practitioners working at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, it yielded impressive results, reducing stress, compassion fatigue and burnout.

You’ll notice with this issue that we’ve refreshed the look of the journal. We’re still bringing our readers the same clinical practice news and insights on the latest research from leaders in the field, but we’ve modernized our design to enhance your experience. We’d love to hear from you with your ideas and suggestions.

And, as always, thank you for reading.

—Mike Hennessy

Chairman and CEO