When the Patient Says No.

An oncologist reflects on a patient's choice not to receive treatment.

Assessing the impact of a targeted electronic medical record intervention on the use of growth factor in cancer patients.

Background: Patients receiving chemotherapy are at risk for febrile neutropenia following treatment. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommend screening patients for risk of febrile neutropenia and risk stratification based on likelihood of febrile neutropenia events. The impact of the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) system on physician compliance with growth factor support guidelines has not been studied.

Palliative Care Training during Fellowship: A National Survey of U.S. Hematology and Oncology Fellows.

Background: Despite requirements for palliative care training during fellowship, there is a paucity of recent data regarding the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of hematology/ oncology fellows in palliative care.

Objective: Our aim was to assess fellows' attitudes toward and quality of training in palliative care during fellowship and perceived preparedness to care for patients at the end of life (EOL).

Methods: In May 2013 a cross-sectional survey of hematology/oncology fellows was conducted.

Survey of Patients Referred to a University Cancer Center for Benign Hematology: Quality Measures and Patient Understanding.

Objective: To investigate patients' knowledge and understanding of benign hematology and the potential psychological impact that is associated with referral to outpatient clinics.

Methods: At Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, an anonymous and voluntary survey including 28 questions was designed on the basis of information obtained from a single focus group. A participatory pilot survey was performed with 10 patients followed by a full-scale survey from May until November 2013.

Patient understanding and impression of hematology/oncology fellows.

Background: Hematologists/Oncologists spend years of training in a fellowship program. At academic centers, patients receiving treatment are often seen by fellows. It has not been established what patients understand about fellowship training, therefore the purpose of this study was to explore their understanding and whether they are content with fellows taking part in their care.

Limited utility of surveillance imaging for detecting disease relapse in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in first complete remission.

Introduction: Surveillance imaging with computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography with CT (PET/CT) is commonly used in practice in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who are in remission after front-line therapies. We aimed to determine the utility of routine imaging for detecting first relapse in patients with NHL in complete remission (CR) after first-line therapies.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with NHL who achieved CR after first-line therapies and then subsequently had disease relapse.

Acute myeloid leukemia presenting as acute appendicitis.

Appendicitis in leukemic patients is uncommon but associated with increased mortality. Additionally, leukemic cell infiltration of the appendix is extremely rare. While appendectomy is the treatment of choice for these patients, diagnosis and management of leukemia have a greater impact on remission and survival.