Co-creation of a patient engagement strategy in cancer research funding.

Background: As research teams, networks, and institutes, and health, medical, and scientific communities begin to build consensus on the benefits of patient engagement in cancer research, research funders are increasingly looking to meaningfully incorporate patient partnership within funding processes and research requirements. The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the largest non-profit cancer research funder in Canada, set out to co-create a patient engagement in cancer research strategy with patients, survivors, caregivers and researchers. The goal of this strategy was to meaningfully and systematically engage with patients in research funding and research activities.

Supporting People and Their Caregivers Living with Advanced Cancer: From Individual Experience to a National Interdisciplinary Program.

Objectives: To discuss the unmet needs of patients living with advanced cancer and their caregivers and to review strategies, including collaborating with community and non-profit organizations, to help improve the experience of living with, and beyond, advanced cancer.

Data Sources: Published articles, first person experience (SB), community organization input, and survey data (Canadian Cancer Society).

Conclusion: People living with advanced cancer face significant challenges, including persistent physical symptoms and psychosocial concerns, difficulties with coordination of care, and possible lack of available resources and supports if the person is no longer being followed by cancer health care professionals.

Germline Genetic Testing: What the Breast Surgeon Needs to Know.

Purpose: The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) sought to provide educational guidelines for breast surgeons on how to incorporate genetic information and genomics into their practice.

Methods: A comprehensive nonsystematic review was performed of selected peer-reviewed literature. The Genetics Working Group of the ASBrS convened to develop guideline recommendations.

The use of scoring balloons in the superficial femoral artery.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting is becoming increasingly the first-line treatment for patients with both claudication and critical limb ischemia instead of surgery, with the aim of returning the patient's quality of life in the former and preventing amputation. Drug-eluting technologies have seen a large surge in popularity in recent years, and significant patient benefits have been seen with the use of drug-eluting stents and balloons over the use of plain balloon angioplasty. Unfortunately, in many patients with arterial disease there is significant vessel wall calcification - this can theoretically be a barrier to drug delivery and can also be a contributing factor to flow limiting dissection and the subsequent need for bail out stenting.

Venous thoracic outlet compression and the Paget-Schroetter syndrome: a review and recommendations for management.

Paget Schroetter syndrome, or effort thrombosis of the axillosubclavian venous system, is distinct from other forms of upper limb deep vein thrombosis. It occurs in younger patients and often is secondary to competitive sport, music, or strenuous occupation. If untreated, there is a higher incidence of disabling venous hypertension than was previously appreciated.