Experts launch new educational tool to improve physician ? patient communications in cancer

International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Congress, London - September 18, 2007: — Effective communication is critical in the management of patients with cancer, yet this important element of their care is often overlooked. This is the view of the oncology, pain and communications experts who are today launching an innovative new educational workbook, entitled Cancer Tales: Communicating in cancer care, which combines real-life patient experiences of cancer with practical guidance to improve communication.

The workbook takes a completely new approach to healthcare professional education and is based around a highly emotive play, Cancer Tales written by Nell Dunn, which tells real life stories of patients with cancer and their families. The book combines the unfolding of these real-life patient experiences with practical guidance to improve communication between healthcare professionals, patients and their carers. The dialogue in each original scene from the play illustrates a particular communication issue, from diagnosis to discussions about disease progression, or anxiety about examinations and treatment procedures. These issues are addressed through detailed chapters which provide advice, guidance and practical exercises designed to create an understanding of the impact of communication and to improve the interaction between healthcare professionals and their patients.

"The medical community are the experts when it comes to treating cancer, but information is lost on patients if not communicated effectively. Often patients have many questions that remain unanswered, leaving them and their families more anxious than necessary during an already difficult time", noted Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. "I hope that this workbook will strike a chord with the medical profession across Europe to help them stop and consider the way they explain diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and living with cancer to their patients."

The need for more effective communication in the management of cancer is illustrated by recent results from the European Pain in Cancer (EPIC) survey , which showed that although 1 in 2 cancer patients were suffering from moderate to severe pain, most of those questioned in depth had to proactively raise the subject of pain with their physician, with nearly a quarter stating that their physician never or only rarely asked about their pain.1 Furthermore, of those patients in moderate to severe pain, one in five were not receiving treatment for their pain.

Cancer Tales: Communicating in cancer care consists of 39 chapters covering a number of topics ranging from dealing with mastectomy, the withdrawal of curative treatment, patient autonomy and rights, the impact of cancer pain and survivorship.

"Clinical expertise and experience are of course integral elements of a healthcare professional's skill set, but the importance of effective communication techniques should not be underestimated," commented Dr Jan Foubert, Senior Lecturer, Association VUB / Erasmushogeschool, Brussels; Immediate Past-President EONS. "Cancer Tales: Communicating in cancer care is targeted at all medical professionals involved in the management of cancer, including primary care and specialist nurses, general practitioners and secondary care physicians, and we hope that the workbook will be used as a core element of educational programmes in future."

Cancer Tales: Communicating in cancer care is available online at www.cancertales.org or a hard copy may be requested from info@cancertales.org.

Cancer Tales: Communicating in cancer care was supported by an educational grant from Mundipharma International Ltd, Cambridge, England

About the Lance Armstrong Foundation
The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) unites people to fight cancer, believing that unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. We provide the practical information and tools people battling cancer need to live life on their own terms. We take aim at the gap between what is known and what is done to prevent death and suffering due to cancer. We engage the public at large to pursue an agenda focused on preventing cancer, ensuring access to screening and care, improving the quality of life for people affected by cancer, and investing in needed research. Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the LAF is located in Austin, Texas. UNITE at LIVESTRONG.org.