Gwendolynn Harrell, RN, Palliative Care Nurse Liaison, Supportive Oncology Care Team, Emory University, discusses a study that examined symptom clustering among patients visiting a supportive oncology clinic.

Harrell says the goal of the study was to better manage symptoms by either anticipating future symptoms based on a previous symptom or by helping patients identify what they were feeling and why they were feeling it.

Results showed that there were three different clusters: psychological, treatment-related and gastrointestinal. Interestingly, pain is a symptom that appears in a multitude of clusters, Harrell says.

Identifying symptom clusters may promote researchers’ understanding of the pathophysiology of cancer, help prioritize effective pharmacotherapies, and identify drugs likely to help more than one symptom. â€‹

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Gwendolynn Harrell Discusses the Benefit of Identifying Symptom Clusters

Gwendolynn Harrell, RN, Palliative Care Nurse Liaison, Supportive Oncology Care Team, Emory University, discusses the benefits of an outpatient supportive oncology clinic.

Cancer patients are referred to outpatient supportive oncology clinics by their oncologists to help manage their symptoms, Harrell says. The clinic houses a team that consists of an attending physician, a nurse practitioner, a chaplain, a registered dietitian and a social worker. 

Harrell says the patients will either meet all or specific members of the team based on their needs. The patients can visit the outpatient facility once a week or once every 4 weeks.

By implementing this outpatient supportive oncology clinic, researchers found that the team was able to decreased patients’ symptoms without repeat hospitalizations.

Gwendolynn Harrell, RN

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Gwendolynn Harrell Discusses the Benefit of Identifying Symptom Clusters

Gwendolynn Harrell on the Benefits of an Outpatient Supportive Oncology Clinic