Remote symptom protocols for individuals undergoing cancer treatment

March 1, 2012

Use these 13 user-friendly symptom protocols to give remote support to cancer patients

These 13 remote symptom protocols combine the best available evidence and have been validated with oncology nurses. These protocols are in plain language to help health-care professionals support cancer patients either by telephone or email.

Managing the symptoms of cancer treatment is an important safety issue because those symptoms can become life-threatening. As well, they often occur when patients are at home. Previous research showed that 88 per cent of Ontario cancer programs offer telephone support by nurses for symptom management. As well, 54 per cent of cancer nurses in Canada provide remote support by telephone and email.

These protocols were created by a Canada-wide steering committee with funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The committee had representatives from eight provinces and used a systematic process guided by the CAN-IMPLEMENT© methodology.

The Partnership’s Person-Centred Perspective initiative is committed to improving the patient experience. We are working with partners across Canada to find the best ways to offer a person-centred perspective throughout a person’s cancer journey and to help information flow throughout. The impact of a cancer diagnosis goes far beyond the physical disease. It affects every aspect of a person’s life. The initiative has focused on reporting about the patient experience, and giving health-care providers patient-centred tools and resources, which have been validated and standardized.