Friends and Colleagues,
Nearly all of this month’s Science of Caring focuses on pain and symptom management in the care of cancer patients. In particular, through interdisciplinary work at UC San Francisco, we are beginning to make headway in an area that has vexed clinicians for some time.
As many forms of cancer become more of a chronic disease, this is a crucial research focus for patients and their families. It’s also right in nursing’s wheelhouse, and we are proud to have scientists like Christine Miaskowski and Bradley Aouizerat assuming important leadership roles.
- Our lead story describes how Miaskowski, Aouizerat and their team are expanding the concept of precision medicine to confirm and gain new insights into the pain breast cancer patients have suffered with for years, often with little or no relief.
- A second story tells of another study that uncovers genetic clues which may one day allow clinicians to better predict who will develop lymphedema, thus increasing the odds that it will be diagnosed and treated in the earliest stages – and, perhaps, prevented.
- A third story tells of Aouizerat’s emerging work on the epigenetics of pain, which offers hope for better and more targeted pain therapies.
- A fourth story, by one of our former PhD students, explains his research aimed at understanding and preventing the cognitive loss that many people undergoing chemotherapy experience.
- A fifth story describes the interdisciplinary, NIH-sponsored Center of Excellence in Pain Education at UC San Francisco and the role that nurse scientists are playing within it.
- Finally, we continue our series of profiles on our remarkable volunteer faculty members. This month nurse practitioner Steve Leiner describes his work at the Mission Neighborhood Health Center.
Dean and Professor of Nursing Education
UCSF School of Nursing
