Steven Stricker, PharmD, MS, BCOP

Conquering the Cancer Care Continuum - Series Three: Fourth Issue

The Management of Adverse Events: A Pharmacist’s Perspective

In the spring of 2008, while I was finishing my oncology pharmacy residency training, I had the opportunity to spend a month in a prominent urban hospital very well known for its indigent patient population. Read More ›

Conquering the Cancer Care Continuum - Series Three: Third Issue

Access to Care: A Pharmacist’s Perspective

As an oncology pharmacist in an ambulatory cancer clinic, in the course of a typical week, it is not unusual for me to counsel 25 to 30 new patients on chemotherapy regimens that they are about to receive (paying particular attention to adverse events [AEs]), and to be directly involved in the monitoring and management of countless other patients who present with side effects associated with their treatments. Read More ›

Conquering the Cancer Care Continuum - Series Three: Second Issue

Good Manufacturing Practice: A Pharmacist’s Perspective

When I joined the faculty of the McWhorter School of Pharmacy (MSOP) at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in July of 2008, I was excited to discover a corporate spirit and passion for involvement with underserved populations that were similar to that of my own. Read More ›

Conquering the Cancer Care Continuum - Series Three: First Issue

Clinical Decision Making in Assessing and Treating Cancer Pain

R is a 43-year-old man with a primary hepatocellular carcinoma. He was diagnosed 6 months ago with metastatic disease and today has been told that there are no remaining conventional treatment options available for the management of his cancer. To look at this patient is to see a young man who seems to be otherwise healthy, a man who continues to work full time, to travel, and to be an active husband and father. Read More ›

Second Issue 2013 series: Conquering the Cancer Care Continuum

JB is a 57-year-old male who presents to the emergency department complaining of acute left-sided chest pain (8/10 on a numeric pain scale) that has been ongoing for approximately 48 hours following a fall at home. Read More ›

Throughout this series, we have evaluated various challenges and barriers to optimizing care for patients with cancer. While it is evident that we have a long way to go with regard to making cancer therapy logistically easy, better tolerated, and less emotionally exhausting, the past decade has arguably brought us closer to achieving these goals. New oral chemotherapy drugs have freed some patients from the restraints of treatment within a cancer center’s infusion suite. New targeted therapies have increased survival and treatment-related efficacy while reducing adverse events.

In an era when oral drugs are increasingly becoming a part of our approach to care for patients with cancer, adherence to prescribed therapy is essential. Yet the statistics cited by Dr Hansen are a stark reminder that despite our best intentions, cancer patients do not and will not always take oral medications the way in which they are directed. For the clinician, this poses a challenge as to how best to confront this troublesome issue in order to improve outcomes for the patients entrusted to our care. The details of such an effort may vary from cancer center to cancer center. Read More ›

The evolution of drug research and development toward oral therapies for cancer over the past decade has created a number of questions for the oncology healthcare provider. Will insurance companies pay for these exceptionally expensive medications? How and when will patients receive their medication? Who will be responsible for ensuring patient education and monitoring to maximize safe drug administration and patient compliance? Read More ›