Integrating Survivorship Care Into a Radiation Medicine Program.

Introduction An important but often overlooked component of caring for cancer patients is survivorship care, provided after the completion of active treatment in order to facilitate transition into the next surveillance phase. A survivorship program was developed to deliver a one-on-one education session on healthy lifestyle behaviours and available resources to help patients transition to their post-treatment life. This study reports the outcome of this pilot survivorship care program provided to breast cancer patients completing radiation therapy. Program delivery format and content were evaluated for effectiveness, applicability, and feasibility.  Methods and materials Between March 2017 and August 2018, 124 breast cancer patients, nearing completion of their curative intent radiation treatments, participated in this centre-specific survivorship program. The survivorship program entailed a one on one education session delivered to breast cancer patients within the last two weeks of their radiation treatment. Participants were provided a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, information pamphlet, and evaluation form to provide feedback on materials and presentation. Survivorship education sessions were delivered by study staff or staff scheduled in the Pre-Radiotherapy Patient Assessment role. Follow-up phone calls were conducted post-session delivery to determine the ongoing applicability of survivorship material. Staff was also given an evaluation form upon completion of the trial to measure the session feasibility. Results Of the 124 participants in the study, 69 (56%) provided feedback. Results showed that 98% of participants felt the information provided either confirmed what they were already doing (44%) or encouraged them to consider a lifestyle change (54%). Additionally, 70% reported feeling more confident after completing the session. Staff survey results reported that 87.5% agreed or strongly agreed that these sessions were beneficial and valuable to patients Conclusions Delivering one-on-one education sessions to individual participants focusing on healthy lifestyle measures garnered a positive response from participants, increasing their confidence and knowledge for making lifestyle changes. While staff survey results pointed strongly in favour of continuing with the survivorship sessions, it was shown that the methods of delivery trialed in this study were not feasible to be implemented on a larger scale. With some workflow modification, implementing a survivorship care program in our cancer centre is a possible and important aspect of a patient's treatment journey.

Collaborating with the Community: Improving Patient Access to Palliative Radiation Therapy.

PURPOSE: Palliative radiation therapy (PRT) has an essential role in cancer symptom control but is underutilized in Ontario. This initiative aimed to implement an educational outreach intervention to improve knowledge of and access to PRT among interprofessional palliative health care teams across an Ontario Local Health Integration Network. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A needs assessment was completed from June to September 2018 with interprofessional palliative health care teams. Participants completed a survey to identify perceived opportunities, barriers, and enablers to recommending or referring patients for PRT. Thematic analysis informed content of the educational outreach intervention and included how to access PRT, common indications, case studies, and side-effect management after completing PRT. The educational outreach intervention was completed from October 2018 to January 2019. Participants completed a survey, and results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The number of patients who received PRT was determined by cross-referencing the regional database with the radiation oncology information system. RESULTS: Although 22.9% of participants had previously recommended or referred patients, 96.2% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they are likely to recommend or refer patients for PRT after the educational outreach intervention (n = 131). An increase was observed in the number of patients receiving PRT from the community during the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: The educational outreach intervention improved knowledge and the likelihood of interprofessional palliative health care teams providing access to PRT for patients in the community. More patients now receive PRT, conveying improved symptom control and quality of life.

Intranasal deposition of nebulized saline: a radionuclide distribution study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity of various nasal sprays and nebulizers, there are limited data regarding the anatomic distribution of particles generated by these devices. This pilot study sought to characterize distribution patterns of nebulized and sprayed saline particles in normal subjects and postsurgical sinus patients. METHODS: Fifteen subjects were studied in three trials: metered-dose nasal spray bottle versus vortex-propelled nebulizer in normal subjects, passive-diffusion nebulizer versus vortex nebulizer in normal subjects, and passive nebulizer versus vortex nebulizer in postsurgical sinus patients. Radiolabeled saline was administered, and nose, lungs, and stomach were imaged. Images were scored by four blinded reviewers for degree of penetration at nine anatomic subsites. RESULTS: Compared with spray bottle, the vortex nebulizer showed more focal intranasal distribution with reduced nasopharyngeal, pharyngeal, and gastric penetration in normal subjects. Three of five subjects showed probable frontal sinus penetration by vortex nebulizer, but no other sinus penetration was noted. No patients showed sinus penetration with the spray bottle. In a separate trial against the passive nebulizer, the vortex nebulizer again showed a greater tendency for sinus penetration in normal subjects, with three of five showing some degree of sphenoid penetration and one of five showing slight maxillary penetration. In contrast, no sinus penetration was observed with the passive nebulizer. In the postsurgical patient cohort, minimal sinus penetration was noted with either the vortex nebulizer or the passive nebulizer. Despite surgically patent sinuses, only one of five subjects showed any type of sinus penetration. CONCLUSION: The nebulizer and nasal spray devices tested in general showed limited penetration of the sinuses in both normal and postoperative patients. The device showing greatest promise for sinus penetration in normal patients was the vortex nebulizer, with an overall penetration rate in normal patients of 30% in the frontal, 30% in the sphenoid, and 10% in the maxillary. Understanding delivery patterns of topical therapies may be important in evaluating the efficacy of various topical treatment modalities.