Panel Overivew
“The best interest of the patient is the single most important factor in decision making during treatment selection in head and neck oncology care”
Management of cancer of the head and neck is frequently a complex and long duration care pathway involving numerous disciplines. The care is often accompanied by significant morbidity with relatively unchanged and challenging survival rates. The intensity and complexity of surgical, radiation oncology, medical oncology, oral rehabilitation, rehabilitation medicine and other treatment modalities are bewildering to patients and their families. With new modalities of care, it is perceived that there is increasing pressure on patients to enter into early decision making with regard to acceptance of treatment pathways. In these decisions it is important to always adhere to the principle that “…the best interest of the patient is the single most important factor in decision making in head and neck oncology care”. As undisputed as this statement may seem, frequently what is not well appreciated is that for the clinician, the question of what is best for the patient becomes remarkably difficult to resolve.
During this special session, a series of topics that impact a patient-centred approach to treatment selection will be addressed through integrated lectures. The presentations will address the question of how far the basic assumption holds that what is best for the patient is truly the treatment paradigm driver. The presentations will focus on raising questions of importance for our future understanding of a patient-centred approach to treatment selection in head and neck oncology management. The audience will be asked to participate and to provide questions to the panel so as to provide a thought provoking exchange of ideas on this provocative subject. Through this process, formulating directions for future research as well as guiding principles for reconsidering current practice are ultimate goals of the session. |
