Forward Look
Quick response to symptoms improves quality of life and survival.
By Cameron Walker
When cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy, side effects are common, and it can be difficult to keep track of when symptoms develop or to describe them to care providers. It can also be tricky to decide if or when to make an urgent appointment or head to the emergency room.
It turns out technology can help. A new study found that patients who tracked their symptoms with an app generally had a higher quality of life and were more likely to live longer.
Ethan Basch, a medical oncologist and health researcher at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, published the findings in a research letter in the July 11, 2017,
Journal of the American Medical Association. The study enrolled 766 patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City who were being treated with chemotherapy for metastatic breast, lung, genitourinary or gynecologic cancers. The patients were divided into two groups. One group followed the usual practice of reporting symptoms to their doctors at office visits and calling the office if symptoms arose between visits. The other group used the app, which had them rate the severity of 12 symptoms they might experience during treatment, such as nausea, pain and loss of appetite. When patients used the app, nurses received alerts about their symptoms.
No comments:
Post a Comment