Mary Layman-goldstein, MS, NP

The intent of this article is to provide oncology nurses with practical information on the pharmacologic management of pain. The use of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery in pain management will not be addressed in this article. It is the second in a three-part series on cancer pain management. The first in the series (September 2006) addressed cancer pain assessment. In a future issue, the third in the series will address nonpharmacologic approaches to cancer pain management.

Nurses seeking to meet the palliative care nutritionalneeds of their patients are increasinglychallenged to work with ongoing, evolving situations,as patients live longer and longer. In the complexcase described below, which illustrates some ofthese challenges, it was useful to have in place,accessible, standardized assessment tools that allowedfor continued nutritional follow-up acrosspractice settings, targeting interventions that best fitwith the patient's goals.