Focusing On Patients

Comfort Always
(continued)

A model for the nation

Meyers’ latest grant will allow him to expand on his first study, using a cancer center-based palliative care model rather than a home-based one.

The new study will follow more than 1,000 patients at UC Davis, the City of Hope and Johns Hopkins. All of the patients will be enrolled in phase I and II trials of investigational chemotherapy drugs. Typically, patients in these trials have exhausted all of the standard treatments for their cancers. They are among the sickest patients seen at cancer centers.

In the study, patients and their family caregivers will be coached in a strategic approach to problem-solving. They will also learn and practice new communication skills, with periodic reinforcement and guidance from staff educators. Coaching will take place in three 60- to 90-minute educational sessions led by a social worker, health educator or nurse. Afterward, an educator will contact the patient and caregivers by phone, or during medical appointments at the cancer center, to reinforce the new skills.

The problem-solving approach comes from the book, “The American College of Physicians Home Care Guide for Cancer,” edited by Peter Houts. Called the COPE approach — for creativity, optimism, planning and expert information — it is designed to help people better handle any difficult life problem.