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Epidemiologic data have recently become available in the U.S. for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMD) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after registries began including these conditions in 2001.
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The role for PET scanning is not yet established for the staging of newly-diagnosed breast cancer or for patients in whom recurrent disease is suspected.
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In an open-label cross-over trial of an aromatase inhibitor in early stage post-menopausal breast cancer, patients who had become intolerant of the menopausal symptoms associated with Tamoxifen improved in this regard by switching to an aromatase inhibitor (AI).
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The management options for low-risk prostate cancer include "watchful waiting," or "active surveillance" prior to initiating disease specific treatment.
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Participants in the Infection Surveillance Project of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care (MAHC) see their bladder catheter infection rates drop when they participate in the project for several reasons that include a staff focus on the issue, comprehensive education, and the exchange of best practices and ideas among the project participants.
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Patient and family education about the care of an indwelling catheter is critical, says Gayle Lovato, RN, MS, infection control practitioner at Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, VA, and a member of the Association of Infection Control Professional's communications committee.
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The number of bladder catheter infections per 1,000 device days reported by participants in the Infection Surveillance Project of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care (MAHC) dropped from 3.35 infections in the first quarter of 2005 to 2.68 in the fourth quarter of 2007.
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For physicians to explain to patients that there are alternatives at the end of life that can be more valuable than chemotherapy, they first must believe it themselves, says Larry Cripe, MD, an oncologist who teaches hematology/oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. Then, they have to develop the communication skills to get that message across, he says.
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Patient care providers should take care to let patients express what their hopes are and to reframe those hopes, gently, with truth, says Vincent Guss Jr., MDiv, chaplain at Falcons Landing Air Force Retired Officers Community in Potomac Falls, VA.
