Delivery of Care
Beating the odds in colorectal cancer
Stefan Gijssels beat the odds in colorectal cancer. Diagnosed with a cancer of the colon in 2015, a laparoscopic surgery intended to remove what was thought to be a locally contained tumour revealed something much nastier. The cancer had pierced…
Evolution of the doctor-patient relationship: from ancient times to the personalised medicine era
The nature of the doctor–patient relationship has gone through various phases in history, based on the changing role of the physician in the community, as well as progress in medicine and increased choices of care, together with better-informed patients. Broadly…
Drugs shortages: ‘We parents of children with cancer are too exhausted to protest’
When it all started, Ioana Oprea did not have a spare moment to come to terms with what had happened ‒ to truly take in the fact that her son Teodor had a brain tumour. In the autumn of 2020,…
Surviving childhood cancer: how we standardise care across Europe
When Lejla Kameric’s daughter was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the twelve-year-old had to get through lumbar punctures without pain relief. “15 years ago in Bosnia, painful procedures and diagnostic activities were done without anaesthesia,” Kameric recalls. “Still now, young doctors…
Cancer and fertility preservation: it can be done… Can’t it?
“I was 26 when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015. I knew before starting cancer treatment that it is possible to preserve fertility. But having been knocked flat by months of illness and still dazed by the diagnosis,…
Tailored exercise: a key element in personalised treatments and prevention
The expression ‘couch potato’ conjures up images of a worldly-wise, self-mocking type who leaves the rat-race to others, while happily cuddling up in front of the TV with snacks and drinks. Yet the consequences of such a lifestyle are dire.…
Pain relief is a right: building confidence in opioid use in oncology
Opioid analgesics are essential for pain relief and pain treatment in patients with active malignant disease. Yet, in 2011, the World Health Organization estimated that, worldwide, 5.5 million people living with terminal cancer suffered from moderate to severe pain, because…
The oncologist-patients who share their unique insights
“I try not to think about it. However, a few times a day, I have moments of a few seconds when I feel like panic is taking over me. After a while everything passes, but I can't handle it very…
Our pathways: advocates provide roadmaps for patients, clinicians and managers
Patient advocates have a collective understanding of the patient pathway, from the first suspicious symptoms to the realities of life as a survivor, that is unrivalled by any professionals. They also understand better than anyone how valuable that knowledge and…
Immunotherapy toxicities demand a joined up approach from oncologists and organ specialists
Adverse effects of cancer therapies have long been at the root of decision making for interventions in all modalities – surgery, radiotherapy and medical – and especially in the latter category of anti-cancer drugs. Most people have heard of some…