Junior researchers were invited to start the day a little earlier with a masterclass hosted by Professor David Hui - Director of supportive and palliative care research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - during which they discussed several topics important in palliative care. These PhD students also presented their own work and had the opportunity to ask for direct feedback. A thorough and interesting group discussion included subjects such as research methodology in palliative care, prognostic acceptance versus prognostic awareness, and several educational aspects.
The afternoon was kicked off by Professor An Reyners, UMC Groningen, who presented details of the Multidimensional Strategy-Palliative Care (MuSt-PC) intervention that has been developed in a nationwide project to monitor symptoms among palliative care patients. This was followed by a lecture from Dr. Annemarie Becker. She elaborated on a recently conducted study at Amsterdam UMC among patients with lung cancer and showed beneficial effects of weekly symptom monitoring through an online app. We then switched to the patient perspective and heard an incredibly rich interview from a patient with incurable breast cancer and her journey through the healthcare system with a specific focus on symptom monitoring.
The highlight of the day was the lecture by keynote speaker David Hui, a professor in palliative care as well as a practicing medical oncologist. He provided a detailed overview of the current landscape of studies, and evidence regarding symptom management as well as monitoring. His core message was to think very deeply about your research design, especially in the field of palliative care, the rest will follow afterwards! The day ended with an engaging shout-out for more collaboration within the field and potentially in the Netherlands and/or Amsterdam UMC.
It was a packed house and great to connect with everyone in the palliative/supportive care field. We are looking forward to next year!
For more information, contact Olaf Geerse.
Text by:
Lia van Zuylen, medical oncologist and professor in palliative care
Annicka van der Plas, research associate palliative care
Olaf Geerse, postdoctoral researcher