2012; Volume 13, No 10, October
Announcements
International Palliative Care Network Conference
The International Palliative Care Network (IPCN) has launched an International Palliative Care Network Conference which the IAHPC is very happy to be one of its sponsors. The goal of the IPCN's International Conference is to initiate a global palliative care conference where access is free by listening to presentations from experts around the world on topics related to palliative care and pain treatment. To see and listen to the online lectures, click here.
We encourage you to share your presentation and information about the Conference 2012 with your colleagues. Your presentation will be listed under the "Lecture series" segment. and mentioned in the Conference Brochure.
European School of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Press Releases
- Governments failing to address “global pandemic of untreated cancer pain
The new data, released to the public during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna, paints a shocking picture of unnecessary pain on a global scale.
“Unrelieved cancer pain is a cause of major worldwide suffering, not because we don’t have the tools necessary to relive pain, but because most patients don’t have access to the essential pain-relieving medication. This pandemic affects literally billions of people. Not only are the patients suffering often terrible unrelieved pain, but their family members are often permanently scarred by the memories of witnessing such suffering in their loved ones” said Prof Nathan Cherny, lead author of the report from Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, Chair of the ESMO Palliative Care Working Group.After the ESMO Congress in Vienna the slides will be posted on the Pain and Policies Study Group Web site http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/
Learn how you can use this press release on 8 October which is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
- Urgent need for integrated oncology and palliative care
The ESMO 2012 Congress will highlight two new Italian studies demonstrating how palliative care works in practice in Italy. The first study explores use of analgesics; the second looks at different models for organization of the integration of palliative care with oncology.
“In addition to making efforts to prolong the life of oncology patients, ESMO felt we needed to ensure that quality of life was good. We’ve made considerable efforts to change the mindset of doctors and patients that taking care of symptoms need not diminish efforts to prolong life. From the outset of diagnosis we wanted to integrate palliative care into the practice of medical oncology,” says Dr Catane, from the Institute of Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Israel.
The press release is available at http://www.esmo.org/fileadmin/media/pdf/2012/press/ESMO-2012-Press-Release-Palliative-Care-Paper-1425P-1436P-Barni-Zagonel.pdf