View clinical trials related to Palliative Care.
Filter by:This study will examine the safety of giving the experimental drug, resiniferatoxin (RTX), to treat severe pain in patients with advanced cancer. RTX is a chemical extracted from a cactus-like plant. It is similar to capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot pepper. RTX has relieved pain and reduced the need for pain medication in several animal experiments. It works by destroying nerves that transmit pain information. People at least 18 years of age with severe pain from advanced cancer at or below the level of the chest that cannot be controlled with standard treatments may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following procedures: Pretreatment Visit Before beginning treatment with RTX, patients give a medical history and undergo a physical examination that includes: - Electrocardiogram (EKG) - Blood draw - Urinalysis - Neurological examinations - Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) - Eye examination - MRI - Urology assessment - Pregnancy test, when appropriate - Questionnaires to collect information on health, personality, mood, pain levels and symptoms. 2-Day Hospitalization Patients are hospitalized for 2 days for RTX injection and monitoring, as follows: - RTX injection: RTX is injected in the operating room under general anesthesia. It is given through a catheter placed in the patient s spine. The catheter is also used to obtain samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the clear fluid that bathes the spinal cord. The fluid is examined to assess drug effects and side effects, chemical changes in the content of the CSF associated with RTX, and how RTX is handled by the body. - Post-injection monitoring, including: - Surveys about symptoms such as pain or weakness - Neurological examinations - Blood and CSF sampling - EKG - AEs Outpatient followup - Vitals - Blood draw, Urinalysis, neurological and sensory testing, EKG on days 7, 14 and 30 after the injection - MRI scans of the head and back, Urology assessment and PEFR on day 15 after the injection - Eye examination - Follow-up phone calls monthly for 6 months
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Sativex® and GW-2000-02 are effective in the management of subjects with intractable cancer-related pain.
Most dying cancer patients would prefer a home death yet die in an institution. Patients can experience uncertainty when weighing practical considerations, concern for others, and their personal ratings about the desirability and undesirability of various outcomes related to different locations of care. Health professionals, trained in decision support, can help patients to make decisions that are informed by both relevant information and what outcomes are most valued by patients. Therefore, I will study if an educational intervention can help nurses and case managers to strengthen their skills and confidence in providing patient decision support around place of end of life care. Project Description: Using a two step approach I will study if the quality of providers decision support can be improved with an education. In step one nurses and care coordinators will be interviewed to identify factors that make it easier or more difficult to provide patient decision support. This information will be used to develop an education program. In step two, nurses and care coordinator volunteers will be assigned by a flip of a coin to either receive the decision support education or not. Before and after the education program the quality of the decision support participants provide will be measured and compared. As well, participants receiving the education program will be asked about their satisfaction with the education program.
Background: Approximately one third of all deaths in Denmark are caused by cancer. Both Danish and international research shows that the majority of terminally ill cancer patients wish to die at home. In Denmark only about 25% has this wish fulfilled. The General Practitioner (GP) has traditionally had the full responsibility for the palliative care of terminally ill cancer patients. In recent years changes have been made to the organisation of palliative care: some hospitals have set up specialised palliative care teams and in some areas of Denmark hospices have been established. Recent research defines a problem when it comes to communication between the hospital and general practice when the patient is being discharged. This is often done in a way that can cause the patient to feel "left in limbo", especially if it is not completely clear to the patient and his or her relatives who has the responsibility for the palliative care. Objective: 1. To describe consequences for patients, relatives and health care professionals of three different ways of organising palliative care 2. To collect data which describes patients who are candidates to a shared care approach between general practice and a specialised palliative care team 3. To collect data which describes the palliative phase (place of death and palliative care, admissions to hospital, involvement of GP and district nurse etc.) 4. To describe terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives expectations of the health care system 270 terminally ill cancer patients will be invited to take part in the study. Data will be collected by interview with patients and questionnaires for patients, relatives and involved health care professionals.
Palliative care in cancer aims at alleviating the suffering of patients. A previous study in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer showed that adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) infusions had a favourable effect on fatigue, appetite, body weight, muscle strength, functional status, quality of life, and survival. Based on these promising results, the present study was designed 1. To evaluate whether the beneficial effects of ATP administration observed in patients with advanced lung cancer would also be present in pre-terminal cancer patients of different tumour types, and 2. To test the feasibility of application of ATP infusions in a home care setting.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of tanezumab in combination with opioids in treating pain due to cancer that has spread to bone.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effective dose range and to demonstrate a non-effective dose range of Sativex in patients with advanced cancer, who experience inadequate pain relief even though they are on optimized chronic opioid therapy.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether oral methadone plus acetaminophen can substitute morphine in the treatment of cancer pain.
The purpose of this study is to compare two types of group counseling for cancer patients: Meaning-Centered counseling and Supportive counseling. Many cancer patients seek counseling to help with the emotional burden of their illnesses. Counseling often helps them cope with cancer by giving them a place to express their feelings. "Meaning-Centered" group counseling is intended to teach cancer patients how to maintain or even increase a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, despite cancer. "Supportive" group counseling is intended to help you cope with cancer by giving you a place to express your feelings and get support from other cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to compare the benefits of these two types of counseling approaches for cancer patients.
Research question: Can acupuncture improve symptom control and quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced incurable cancer? The purposes of this study is to investigate the feasibility of performing a randomized trial with acupuncture in improving symptom control and quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced incurable cancer at the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver Island Centre in Victoria. We will: - Evaluate whether subjects who are receiving palliative care for cancer related symptoms can tolerate and complete to a course of acupuncture treatments. - Evaluate whether it is possible to conduct a study using acupuncture on cancer patients.