MASCC • Supportive Care makes excellent cancer care possible
NEWS
November2014
Welcome to the November Edition of the MASCC Society News
Message from Editors Anna Ugalde and Anna Boltong
In this edition, we are delighted to introduce Antonia Clark, who has been appointed as MASCC’s Web Editor. Toni
will work closely with MASCC’s executive team and she will also be involved supporting the preparation and
publication of these monthly newsletters. This month, we also profile two new MASCC members and promote a
new book. We also share some exciting publications from MASCC members submitted to various journals, such as
Supportive Care in Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Medical Oncology and Journal of Palliative Medicine. We
hope you enjoy the read and please remember to keep us apprised of any good news stories or accomplishments by
MASCC members.
From your editors, Anna & Anna
Introducing Antonia Clark
We are delighted to introduce Antonia (Toni) Clark. Toni has
accepted the position of MASCC’s Web Editor and will work closely
with the Executive Director in editing the MASCC website. She will
also be involved with the publication of the Society News.
With advanced degrees in English and Experimental Psychology, Toni
has 30 years of experience in medical and science writing and editing.
She has worked as a Publications and Information Services Director
in academic settings, grant-funded research centers, and in private
industry. For the past 15 years, Toni served as Medical Editor and
Senior Content Developer for two health information technology
companies. She has researched, written, and edited content on a wide
range of topics, including disease signs and symptoms, diagnosis and
management, medical tests and procedures, and general health and
wellness.
Toni is working with MASCC because of its mission and commitment
to improving all aspects of quality of life for people with cancer.
Having worked in research earlier in her career, Toni also has a
longstanding interest in ways of transferring new knowledge to useful
applications, especially in clinical practice. As a Director of Information
Services at a US federally funded research center, her work included finding ways to get new research findings to
the people — both healthcare providers and patients — who could best use the information.
In her role as MASCC’s Web Editor, Toni will review, fine-tune, and update web content and will advise on
presentation and website responsiveness to members’ needs and interests. She can also work with Study Group
chairs and other members to develop new content in order to showcase members’ research and educational
initiatives on the website. Toni is available for other copyediting and general word-smithing advice. Her vision for
the website is that of a vibrant, content-rich resource for MASCC members.
On a personal note, Toni is also a writer of fiction and poetry. She has published widely, taught poetry and fiction
writing, and currently moderates an online poetry forum. Toni lives in Winooski, Vermont, loves French picnics,
and plays French café music on a sparkly purple accordion. Information about her two poetry collections is
available at antoniaclark.com.
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org
MASCC • Supportive Care makes excellent cancer care possible
New Book Published by MASCC Member – Managing Breast Cancer
Congratulations to new MASCC member Eric Wisotzky (profiled in this edition) for the recent
publication of a new book titled Managing Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living Well Through
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Co-authored with Curtis Whitehair, MD, this book
aims to help patients navigate through their breast cancer experience and maintain the highest
level of functioning. It can be accessed at the MedStar National Rehabilitation Network:
https://www.medstarhealth.org/nrh/Pages/Health-Information/Publications/ManagingBreast-Cancer.aspx
Meet a New MASCC Member, Eric Wisotzky
I am the Associate Director of Cancer Rehabilitation at the MedStar
National Rehabilitation Hospital and MedStar Georgetown University
Hospital in Washington, D.C. I am a physiatrist and am involved in
supportive care, and my work is focused on managing the functional,
musculoskeletal, and neuromuscular side effects of cancer and cancer
treatments. As a resident, I spent considerable time training at Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where I learned about cancer rehabilitation.
This experience showed me the importance of rehabilitating cancer patients
back to their pre-cancer level of function. I believe there is so much that can
be done to help cancer patients function well and feel like their "pre-cancer
selves". Since there is no specialty society for cancer rehabilitation, I was
looking for a group of colleagues that focuses on supportive care for cancer
patients, and this seemed like the perfect organization to join.
Meet a New MASCC Member, Loretta Williams
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Symptom Research,
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Supportive care
is very relevant to my work, as I am involved in the assessment,
physiological mechanisms, and treatment of symptoms of cancer and
cancer treatment. I have joined MASCC because it is a
multidisciplinary organization that provides networking opportunities
for symptom researchers. My current work focuses on symptom burden,
as reflected in three recent publications:
• Williams LA, Garcia Gonzalez AG, Ault P, Mendoza TR, Sailors ML,
Williams JL, Huang F, Nazha A, Kantarjian HM, Cleeland CS, Cortes
JE. Measuring the symptom burden associated with the treatment of
chronic myeloid leukemia. Blood 122(5):641-7, 8/2013. Epub 6/2013.
PMCID: PMC3731927.
• Williams LA, Agarwal S, Bodurka DC, Saleeba AK, Sun CC,
Cleeland CS. Capturing the patient's experience: using qualitative methods to develop a measure of patientreported symptom burden: an example from ovarian cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage 46(6):837-45, 12/2013.
Epub 4/2013. PMCID: PMC3775907.
• Williams LA, Yucel E, Cortes JE, Cleeland CS. Measuring symptoms as a critical component of drug
development and evaluation in hematological diseases. Clin Invest 3(12):1127-38, 12/2013. NIHMSID:
NIHMNIHMS569947.
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org
MASCC • Supportive Care makes excellent cancer care possible
Publications from MASCC members
1: Jackson LK, Johnson DB, Sosman JA, Murphy BA, Epstein JB. Oral health in oncology: impact of immunotherapy. Support
Care Cancer. 2014 Sep 13.
2: Dranitsaris G, Lacouture ME. Development of prediction tools for diarrhea and rash in breast cancer patients receiving
lapatinib in combination with capecitabine. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2014 Sep 13.
3: Brown AJ, Sun CC, Prescott LS, Taylor JS, Ramondetta LM, Bodurka DC. Missed opportunities: Patterns of medical care
and hospice utilization among ovarian cancer patients. Gynecol Oncol. 2014 Sep 2.
4: Tieman JJ, Morgan DD, Swetenham K, To TH, Currow DC. Designing clinically valuable telehealth resources: processes to
develop a community-based palliative care prototype. JMIR Res Protoc. 2014 Sep 4;3(3):e41.
5: Elad S, Raber-Durlacher JE, Brennan MT, Saunders DP, Mank AP, Zadik Y, Quinn B, Epstein JB, Blijlevens NM, Waltimo T,
Passweg JR, Correa ME, Dahllöf G, Garming-Legert KU, Logan RM, Potting CM, Shapira MY, Soga Y, Stringer J, Stokman
MA, Vokurka S, Wallhult E, Yarom N, Jensen SB. Basic oral care for hematology-oncology patients and hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation recipients: a position paper from the joint task force of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in
Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) and the European Society for Blood and Marrow
Transplantation (EBMT). Support Care Cancer. 2014 Sep 5.
6: Brown AJ, Shen MJ, Ramondetta LM, Bodurka DC, Giuntoli RL 2nd, Diaz-Montes T. Does Death Anxiety Affect End-ofLife Care Discussions? Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2014 Sep 3.
7: Folkert MR, Singer S, Brennan MF, Kuk D, Qin LX, Kobayashi WK, Crago AM, Alektiar KM. Comparison of Local
Recurrence With Conventional and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Primary Soft-Tissue Sarcomas of the
Extremity. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Sep 2.
8: Taylor DH Jr, Danis M, Zafar SY, Howie LJ, Samsa GP, Wolf SP, Abernethy AP. There Is a Mismatch Between the Medicare
Benefit Package and the Preferences of Patients With Cancer and Their Caregivers. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Aug 25.
9: Spratt DE, Gordon Spratt EA, Wu S, DeRosa A, Lee NY, Lacouture ME, Barker CA. Efficacy of Skin-Directed Therapy for
Cutaneous Metastases From Advanced Cancer: A Meta-Analysis. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Aug 25.
10: To TH, Agar M, Yates P, Currow DC. Prescribing for nausea in palliative care: a cross-sectional national survey of
Australian palliative medicine doctors. J Palliat Med. 2014 Sep;17(9):1032-6.
11: Lalla RV, Choquette LE, Curley KF, Dowsett RJ, Feinn RS, Hegde UP, Pilbeam CC, Salner AL, Sonis ST, Peterson DE.
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of celecoxib for oral mucositis in patients receiving radiation therapy for head
and neck cancer. Oral Oncol. 2014 Aug 20.
12: Zhang M, Wah C, Epstein JI. Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma to the Urinary Bladder: A Report of 11 Cases. Am J Surg
Pathol. 2014 Aug 19.
13: Sonis S, Elting L, Keefe D, Nguyen H, Grunberg S, Randolph-Jackson P, Brennan M; on behalf of the TRIAD Burden of
Illness Investigators. Unanticipated frequency and consequences of regimen-related diarrhea in patients being treated with
radiation or chemoradiation regimens for cancers of the head and neck or lung. Support Care Cancer. 2014 Aug 16.
14: Gralla RJ, Hollen PJ, Msaouel P, Davis BV, Petersen J. An evidence-based determination of issues affecting quality of life
and patient-reported outcomes in lung cancer: results of a survey of 660 patients. J Thorac Oncol. 2014,Sep;9(9):1243-8.
15: Hirsch BR, Harrison MR, George DJ, Walker MS, Chen C, Korytowsky B, Stepanski E, Abernethy AP. Use of "RealWorld" data to describe adverse events during the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma in routine clinical practice. Med
Oncol. 2014 Sep;31(9):156.
16: Brennan MF, Antonescu CR, Moraco N, Singer S. Lessons learned from the study of 10,000 patients with soft tissue
sarcoma. Ann Surg. 2014 Sep;260(3):416-22.
17: Currow DC, Abernethy AP. The science of breathlessness: '… as we come onto the home straight, Science is catching
Clinical Practice. Just two lengths between them'. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2014 Sep;8(3):189-90.
18: Blum D, Koeberle D, Omlin A, Walker J, Von Moos R, Mingrone W, deWolf-Linder S, Hayoz S, Kaasa S, Strasser F, Ribi
K. Feasibility and acceptance of electronic monitoring of symptoms and syndromes using a handheld computer in patients with
advanced cancer in daily oncology practice. Support Care Cancer. 2014 Sep;22(9):2425-34.
19: Bartley EJ, Edmond SN, Wren AA, Somers TJ, Teo I, Zhou S, Rowe KA, Abernethy AP, Keefe FJ, Shelby RA. Holding
back moderates the association between health symptoms and social well-being in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2014 Sep;48(3):374-84.
20: Malcolm C, Gibson F, Adams S, Anderson G, Forbat L. A relational understanding of sibling experiences of children with
rare life-limiting conditions: Findings from a qualitative study. J Child Health Care. 2014 Sep;18(3):230-40.
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org
MASCC • Supportive Care makes excellent cancer care possible
MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting
Copenhagen 2015
Meeting tools are now available on the mascc.org website.
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http://www.mascc.org/meeting-toolkit
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Have any news items to share?
Please send contributions for the MASCC News to [email protected] or the co-editors:
Anna Ugalde [email protected]
Anna Boltong [email protected]
For more information please contact: Åge Schultz, MASCC Executive Director: [email protected]
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org