Getting to the root of patients’ issues can provide support for their cancer journey through accessible means, says Heather Jackson, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAA-NP.
Complementary care offers patients non-pharmaceutical options for alleviating adverse events (AEs) and other symptoms throughout cancer treatment, according to pain management specialist Heather Jackson, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAA-NP, an administrative director of advanced practice at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centers in Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee.
Jackson, who was named America’s top nurse practitioner for pain management by the Point of Care Network, emphasized that providing patients with a care option that avoids additional medication is a preferrable options for patients with cancer and can often address issues from the source.
She offered for example the issue of coinciding pain and sleep issues. In these cases, Jackson explained, it may be unclear whether the pain is causing sleep issues or the sleep issues are exacerbating pain. In these cases, conversations with patients can help uncover which issue is causing further symptoms, and the root of the patients’ issues can be identified.
For example, Jackson discussed a recent patient whose issues stemmed from poor sleep hygiene; in this case, doable changes included having a more realistic bedtime and reducing screen time before sleep.
Complementary treatments are always an underutilized resource that people just don’t realize that we can use as adjunct treatments. No matter what I’m doing to treat symptoms of pain in patients, I always look to those options. If I have a patient who has disrupted sleep, I try to look at the source. Is this because the pain is uncontrolled, or is the pain exacerbated because someone’s not sleeping? What’s the source of that? What’s contributing to that?
What I love about treating patients with cancer is that oftentimes they don’t want more medication. They’re tapped out when it comes to that. They’re [undergoing] treatment, so they’re always looking for something [outside of medication].
Recently, I had a patient who was having insomnia for weeks, and it was really impacting his quality of life. But when I really got down to it, it was a sleep hygiene and education issue. He was using his iPad a lot. He was trying to go to bed at 7 o’clock. You have to have a routine, and you must establish what you are doing throughout the day. It took just education and talking to the patient. We didn’t even have to require a medication, but we had something in our back pocket if we needed it. It’s amazing to see how those interventions can work.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
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