Palliative Medicine

Cancer is a disabling, challenging and growing global disease. Although early diagnosis and adequate treatment of oncological disease have been developing rapidly, a large part of the population remains without access to specialized services and routinely evolve to symptoms and sequelae with uncontrolled pain, worse quality of life and suffering. Complementary therapies to control pain and improve the well-being of cancer patients are fundamental tools of integrative oncology medicine. This study proposes to use immersive virtual reality to encourage cancer patients to carry out the regular practice of meditation, as an effective tool in pain management and in the search for a better quality of life, based on a structured intervention that encourages autonomy as important part of your treatment. Two studies will be carried out at the Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Service of the Amazonas State Oncology Control Center Foundation (FCECON). Study 1 will be a cross-sectional study to describe the variables associated with the diagnosis and treatment of patients' pain and Study 2 will be a Randomized Controlled Trial that will analyze the impact of an intervention performed with meditation through immersive virtual reality for pain relief. pain in these patients. It is expected that the regular practice of meditation through immersive virtual reality will promote pain relief and improve the quality of life of cancer pain patients.

Many children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses get sudden bursts of pain called breakthrough pain. At the moment, there aren't any good ways to measure this pain in children and young people. The investigators are developing two questionnaires to help: one for patients to fill out themselves and another for parents or healthcare professionals to complete for younger children and young people who cannot explain their pain for themselves. The investigators plan to work with 210 people across hospitals and hospices in England and Wales. This includes children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals. The investigators have already made a first version of the questionnaires. The project has three main Studies: In Study 1, the investigators will talk to 5-10 young patients and 5-10 caregivers about their experiences with breakthrough pain. The investigators will use their feedback to improve the questionnaires. In Study 2, the investigators will ask 5-10 patients, 5-10 caregivers, and 5-10 healthcare professionals to fill out the questionnaires while speaking their thoughts out loud. This will help the investigators find any parts that are confusing or difficult to understand. In Study 3, the investigators will test how well the questionnaires works. 80 patients, 40 caregivers, and 40 healthcare professionals will complete the questionnaires three different times to make sure they measure breakthrough pain as accurately as possible. These questionnaire will be useful for hospitals and hospices across England and Wales to help them better manage pain, including breakthrough pain, in patients aged 3 months to 25 years who have life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses.