Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine
Open Access

Abstract

Patients diagnosed with and fighting cancer is facing multiple distressing factors that could adversely affect compliance with medical care and the outcomes of cancer therapy and even the overall survival. Distress significantly affects the quality of life a patient might have. The city of Hope is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center and an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution. We are guided by compassionate patient-centered philosophy, supported by a national foundation of humanitarian philanthropy, and we sustain a long history of commitment to physician education. Distress is addressed in all patients receiving care at the City of Hope through proper screening and triage. Patients are screened with a tool developed by City of Hope, named Support Screen, that identifies biopsychosocial problems related to distress and facilitates patient - physician and multi-specialist communication. Data collection identified the most distressing factors (emotional, physical, social, communication, spiritual etc.) for our patient population and the differences between various cancer diagnosis groups (GI, Breast, Lung etc.). A literature review indicated that distress could be further reduced by a proper coordination of care, hence, the Department of Supportive Care Medicine developed a clinical triage algorithm to ensure that all distressing factors are appropriately addressed. This presentation will share with the audience these initiatives and the data collection.

Biography

Sorin Buga MD is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope, Duarte, California. He is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He completed his fellowship in palliative medicine at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. He is the City of Hope’s representative on the NCCN Adult Cancer Pain Panel and an active member of the American Academy of Integrative Pain Management, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and International Association for the Study of Pain. He has published in the peer review literature and is often invited to speak at scientific meetings.

E-mail: sbuga@coh.org