Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.
Latest additions
Palliativedrugs.com on twitter
Follow us @palliativedrugs for information on updates to the on-line PCF, latest additions to the website and news related to drug use in palliative care.
PCF updated monographs
The online Palliative Care Formulary (PCF) is being continually updated. The following monographs have been updated during December 2013 and supersede those in the publication of the 4thformulary (PCF4) and the PCF4+ 2013 epdf. They can be accessed from the formulary section of the website:
Chapter 1: Products for haemorrhoids
Chapter 2: Nifedipine
For a full list of all the monographs updated since the publication of PCF4, click here.
Strong opioids and the relief of cancer pain
We are proud to announce the publication of a new booklet Strong opioids and the relief of cancer pain: Information for patients, families and friends published by the editorial team of the Palliative Care Formulary. Based on the booklet Oral Morphine and the Relief of Cancer Pain: Information for patients, families and friends by Dr Robert Twycross and Dr Sylvia Lack (Beaconsfield publishers 1987), it has been fully revised to include all strong opioids.
Written in question and answer form, Strong Opioids and the Relief of Cancer Pain deals with the many concerns which patients, and their family and friends, may have when a strong opioid is first prescribed. It is not meant to be read straight through from beginning to end; it is more for dipping into. Easy to understand language is used throughout which has been approved by the Plain English Campaign and carries the prestigious Crystal Mark for clarity. Some example questions answered include:
• Will I become addicted?
• How soon will I become pain-free?
• What should I do if I forget to take a dose?
• What can I do if the pain comes back between regular doses?
• What about unwanted effects with skin patches?
• Do strong opioids have many unwanted effects?
• What is ‘spinal’ morphine?
It is available via our store priced £5.99 including p&p, (discounts available for purchases of 10 or more) or from Amazon.
Prepared by Sarah Charlesworth and Andrew Wilcock