RESEARCH PROGRAMS - Cancer Symptom Control

Co-Leader	Co-Leader
Joel E. Dimsdale, M.D. Professor Dept. of Psychiatry (619) 543-5592 jdimsdale@ucsd.edu	Tony L. Yaksh, Ph.D. Professor Dept. of Anesthesiology (619) 543-3597 tyaksh@ucsd.edu
(See link below for researchers affiliated with this program.)

Scientific Goals

Members of the Cancer Symptom Control Program conduct research on the human dimensions of the impact of cancer and its treatment. To a certain extent, it is unrealistic to treat symptoms such as pain, depression, and fatigue as independent of each other. Indeed, considerable work by members of the Cancer Symptom Control Program precisely examines the nature of the linkages and boundary issues that pertain to these symptoms.  There are 4 overarching themes that characterize the research portfolio of this Program: (1) Pain; (2) Depression and Distress; (3) Sleep and Fatigue, and; (4) Palliative Medicine. Specifically targeted areas include

• Stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue and sleep disorders in cancer patients and their caregivers, to develop tools to identify patients at risk for these disorders, and to develop interventions for managing these distressing symptoms.
  
  
• Pharmacological interventions to assist cancer patients' coping with pain and depression, and to find the best means of administering these interventions in nauseated or anorexic patients.
  
  
• Pain conditions in cancer patients/survivors and define psychosocial, mechanistic and therapeutic issues affecting pain perception and relief.
  
  
• Pre-clinical models of cancer-induced pain to discover new methods of effective treatment.
  
  
• Patient communication about cancer as a way of maximizing patient satisfaction and understanding.
  
  
• The impact of treatment and cancer screening on patient morale.
  
  
• Educational interventions to improve patient care and physician behavior.