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Online Resources

PainAwareness.org

A comprehensive resource that offers an array of knowledge and tools to practitioners interested in furthering their understanding about pain and pain management.
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PalliativeDoctors.org
A new service for consumers from American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM).
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Education for
Patients & Families



Yale Prostate Cancer Symposium
October 3; 9:00am - 12:30pm
A free program for patients and their families presented by Yale Cancer Center. For reservations, please call (888) 700-6543.
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Hope, Not Fear
October 8; 8:30am - 3:00pm
Breast Cancer patients, survivors, and the general public are invited to learn more about the detection, treatment, and prevention of breast cancer. For reservations, please call (888) 700-6543.
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Understanding Cancer Lecture Series
October 14; 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Breast Cancer, Nutrition and Exercise 
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November 10; 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Cost of Cancer
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Yale-New Haven Hospital East Pavilion Cafeteria. For reservations, please call 888-900-6543.
 

Meetings & Continuing Education

Yale

Schwartz Center Rounds
9th floor East Pavilion conference room

October 12; 12:00pm
"Patient dying while waiting for a transplant"
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November 2; 12:00pm
"Substance abuse-The noncompliant patient"
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September 30;  4:00pm - 6:30pm
Integrative Medicine Meeting
Ayurveda: Traditional Medicine of India: an Overview. 
Brady Auditorium, Lauder Hall,
310 Cedar Street


Connecticut
December 3; 8:30am - 3:30pm
Connecticut Cancer Partnership Annual Meeting. 
Keynote speaker: Dr. Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Yale's West Campus
[Registration information coming next month] 



Elsewhere

October 9-11; Cambridge, MA
Practical Aspects of Palliative Care: Integrating Palliative Care into Clinical Practice. (CME)
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October 21; Publick House in Sturbridge, MA
8:00am - 12:00pm
Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST),  Massachusetts Pain Initiative quarterly meeting. (CME, CNE, CSWE)
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November 6-8, 2009; Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Cancer Survivorship for Clinicians: Helping Survivors Live Well Beyond Cancer (CME)
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November 9, 2009; Beth Israel Medical Center
Symposium: Emerging Practices in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care: Advances in Nursing.
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Online
November 2009
Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Virtual Meetings for Fall 2009: Institutes of Learning and Advance Practice Nurses meetings. (CNE)
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November 3, 2009
Changing the Way Palliative Care Teams Get Things Done.
 "Warning: This session will create a dramatic shift in how you and your team diagnose and solve problems."  CAPC Audioconference.
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Breakthrough Pain (Pain.org; CME;CNE)
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September 2009          Volume 3 � No 9
The Children's Place

By Guest Author Luis Gonzalez, The Connecticut Hospice
 
The Connecticut Hospice has had a dedicated pediatric palliative and hospice program in both home care and in the hospice hospital since 1986.  Over the past two decades, the Connecticut Hospice has cared for several hundred pediatric patients and their families presenting with a wide variety of diseases and ranging in age from infants to teenagers. Children with AIDs, anencephaly, congenital heart defects, cancer, and neuromuscular diseases, among others have all received services through our program.
 
Our pediatric program is led by a pediatric oncologist and includes a full interdisciplinary team, including the arts, bereavement, and the "Rockers" (a volunteer group who rock young children in rocking chairs around the clock when they are hospitalized in our hospital hospice). It should be noted that the "Rockers" received an award from the American Hospice Association in the late 1980's for their selfless work with infants.
 
We typically have several severely ill children in our hospice hospital on a yearly basis and more children in our home care program on a monthly basis. Our experience with our pediatric program suggests that the intensity of our care, both medical and psychosocial, has led to longer survival times than originally prognosticated. We have had several experiences where infants survived for nearly a year with severe neural defects.
 
For more information, please contact Luis M. Gonzalez at (203) 315-7502 or The Connecticut Hospice.



In the News

September is...
Pain Awareness Month
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Caring Connections Teams with Google Health™

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) Caring Connections, and Google Health™ have come together to increase the availability and accessibility of advance care planning information and resources online.
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A new feature on Google Health™ allows users to download a free, state-specific advance directive and store the scanned documents securely online. (From CAPC eNews)
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Dannemiller Foundation
Dannemiller Foundation announces new nonpharma-funded continuing education resource for nurse practitioners.
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Health Care Reform and Death
Article written for Internet newspaper Huffington Post by Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School faculty members. 
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Prolonging Death at the End of Life
New York Times article by Oncology nurse
Theresa Brown, RN
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Health Promotion: Tip of the Month

Oral Calcium Supplements
Oral calcium supplements are not well absorbed in doses greater than 500 mg per dose. So for many women needing 1000 mg I recommend they split the timing  - 500 mg midday, 500 mg at night. Individuals need a good routine to remember the schedule. Many women are also on thyroid meds, which are best taken in the AM when fasting.  Calcium can reduce the effect of the thyroid dose, so saving the calcium for later in the day is a better strategy. Of course, I like to limit supplements to one 500 mg pill and make the rest up in food - better absorption, fewer pills. Consume 4 oz calcium-fortified orange juice, 8 oz organic skim milk (what you add to coffee counts!) 8 oz yogurt, 1 oz cheese: it adds up to got 1000 mg! 

This month's Tip provided by: Maura Harrigan, RD, of the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic.


Journal Watch

Bakitas M, et al. Effects of a palliative care intervention on clinical outcomes in patients with advanced cancer: the Project ENABLE II randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009 Aug 19;302(7):741-9.
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Caraceni A, et al. Update on cancer pain guidelines. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2009 Sep;38(3):e1-3.
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Hurria A, et al. Distress in older patients with cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Sep 10;27(26):4346-51.
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Nelson CJ, et al. The chronology of distress, anxiety, and depression in older prostate cancer patients. Oncologist.  2009;14(9):891-899.
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Mystakidou K, et al. Self-efficacy beliefs and levels of anxiety in advanced cancer patients. Eur J Cancer Care. 2009 Jul 29.
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Quill TE, et al. Discussing treatment preferences with patients who want "everything." Ann Intern Med. 2009 Sep 1;151(5):345-9.
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Back AL, et al. Compassionate silence in the patient-clinician encounter: a contemplative approach. J Palliat Med. 2009 Aug 21.
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Levy MH, et al. NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology: palliative care. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2009 Apr;7(4):436-73.
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Savard J, et al. Prevalence, natural course, and risk factors of insomnia comorbid with cancer over a 2-month period. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Sep 8.
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Hoffman KE, et al. Psychological distress in long-term survivors of adult-onset cancer: results from a national survey. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Jul 27;169(14):1274-81.
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Alkner S, et al. Tamoxifen reduces the risk of contralateral breast cancer in premenopausal women: Results from a controlled randomised trial. Eur J Cancer. 2009 Sep;45(14):2496-502.
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Droney J, Riley J. Recent advances in the use of opioids for cancer pain. Journal of Pain Research. Sep 2009.
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Homsi J, et al. A Comparative Study of 2 Sustained-Release Morphine Preparations for Pain in Advanced Cancer. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2009.
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