Thomas J. Smith, MD | Authors

November 15, 2017

Cancer-related fatigue is a common, albeit complex, symptom experienced by many cancer patients. Identification of fatigue and assessment of its severity should be a part of routine office care and can be performed using simple, one-question screening tools.

November 15, 2016

We review here the recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, as well as some new and promising approaches to neuropathy, including new neuromodulation techniques.

August 15, 2015

If we can successfully initiate advance care planning discussions with our patients and families, their end-of-life processes will improve, resulting in better care, less use of the hospital, and more honoring of newly discerned choices.

February 16, 2013

To place responsibility for rationing chemotherapeutics on the oncologist not only increases his or her emotional burden, but it also strains the doctor-patient relationship. We should not allow oncologists to become bedside healthcare rationers simply because no one else wants to do the job.

November 02, 2012

In this podcast we discuss integrating palliative care into standard oncology care with Thomas J. Smith, director of palliative medicine at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

November 30, 2011

This article addresses the practical application of palliative care (PC) in the outpatient oncology setting.

May 15, 2010

Oncologists often do not give honest prognostic and treatment-effect information to patients with advanced disease, trying not to “take away hope.” The authors, however, find that hope is maintained when patients with advanced cancer are given truthful prognostic and treatment information, even when the news is bad.

July 01, 2008

The use of the term "futility" in cancer care has been prompted, in part, by increasing requests from patients for treatments thought to be ineffective as well as costly.[1] The appropriate role of chemotherapy near the end of life is a complex issue.[2]

September 01, 2005

Twenty years of research in controlling symptoms such as pain andnausea have shown persistent suboptimal performance by the US oncologysystem. The data suggest that some of the tools of palliative careprograms can improve physical symptoms of seriously ill patients at acost society can afford. To fix these problems will require recognitionof the symptoms or concerns, a system such as an algorithm or careplan for addressing each, measurement of the change, and accountabilityfor the change. Symptom assessment scales such as the EdmontonSymptom Assessment Scale or Rotterdam Symptom Check List work tomake symptoms manifest. Listing symptoms on a problem list is a necessarystep in addressing them. Physical symptoms such as pain can beimproved by use of computer prompts, algorithms, dedicated staff time,team management, or combinations of these strategies. Less concreteproblems such as medically appropriate goal-setting, integrating palliativecare into anticancer care sooner, and informing patients aboutthe benefits and risks of chemotherapy near the end of life require morecomplex solutions. We review what is known about symptom control inoncology, how and why some programs do better, and make suggestionsfor practice. Finally, we suggest a practical plan for using symptomassessment scales, listing the problems, and managing them accordingto algorithms or other predetermined plans.

October 01, 2004

Dr. Cherny’s article on the managementof cancer pain is acomprehensive review thatshould prove to be a helpful resource.As physicians in a palliative care andoncology program, we discuss howwe utilize these principles and whatwe see put into practice by others.Cherny and Catane have already documentedthat the great majority ofoncologists do a substantial amountof palliative care, whether they call itthat or not, and that most oncologistswould be willing to work with palliativecare or symptom managementspecialists.[1] Knowledge is only onepart of the solution, and must be pairedwith better practice by health-care professionalsand help from our patients.Articles like this will only help if oncologistspay attention.