The Impact of a Narrative Medicine Life Story Pilot Program on Press Ganey™ Scores in an Outpatient Cancer Center.

Oncology patients face challenges beyond those directly affecting their cancer management. Guided personal narrative programs have been shown to help patients with chronic conditions and life-framing events. Few such narrative programs have been reported for cancer patients or analyzed for their impact on patient experience.

Successful Pancreatic Cancer Screening Among Individuals at Elevated Risk Using Endoscopic Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Community Hospital Experience.

Objectives: Guidelines for testing individuals at risk (IAR) for developing pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (PC) are being advanced from university hospital populations. We implemented a screen-in criteria and protocol for IAR for PC in our community hospital setting.

Methods: Eligibility was based on germline status and/or family history of PC.

Phase II study of weekly docetaxel alone or in combination with trastuzumab in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

This study was designed to determine the efficacy and toxicity of weekly docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer when given alone (for HER2/neu negative disease) or with trastuzumab (for HER2/neu overexpressing disease). Patients with metastatic breast carcinoma received docetaxel given on 2 different schedules (group 1A, 33 mg/m2 weekly [n = 21]; group 1B, 40 mg/m2 weekly for 3 weeks with 1 week off [n = 14]). Patients with HER2/neu overexpressing disease also received trastuzumab 4 mg/kg on day 1, then 2 mg/kg on days 8 and 15 of each 28-day cycle (group 2).

Transfusion of polymerised human haemoglobin in a patient with severe sickle-cell anaemia.

Many patients with sickle-cell anaemia have red-cell alloantibodies. We could not obtain compatible blood for a 40-year-old woman with a sickle-cell crisis after a hip operation. We transfused a polymerised human haemoglobin solution, after which the patient's pain was alleviated.

Fallopian tube carcinoma presenting with a brain metastasis.

Background: Fallopian tube carcinoma is a rare gynecologic cancer. An extensive literature search reveals no previous case report of fallopian tube carcinoma presenting with a brain metastasis.

Case: A 63-year-old woman presented with 3 weeks of progressive left-sided weakness.