Amy Berman Speaks at the AJMC's Patient-Centered Oncology Care Meeting in Baltimore

On Thursday, Hartford senior program officer Amy Berman was part of a panel that spoke on "Integrating Palliative Care Into Managed Care for the Good of Patients," sponsored by The American Journal of Managed Care. Amy Berman provided the perspective from a patient who chose palliative care after being diagnosed with stage four inflammatory breast cancer and have continued to defy the odds. Among the other speakers was a nurse educator as well as payer-physicians.

On Thursday, Hartford senior program officer Amy Berman was part of a panel that spoke on "Integrating Palliative Care Into Managed Care for the Good of Patients" at the Patient-Centered Oncology Care Meeting in Baltimore, MD sponsored by The American Journal of Managed Care. Amy Berman provided the perspective from a patient who chose palliative care after being diagnosed with stage four inflammatory breast cancer and have continued to defy the odds.

When it works well, palliative care offers comfort to both patients and their families. A landmark study of lung cancer patients shows it can even extend life by several months. But speakers agreed that because conversations about not pursuing the most aggressive options are so difficult, they often don’t occur early enough, if they occur at all.

In the panel discussion led by Jan Berger, MD, MJ, nurse and cancer patient Amy Berman, BS, RN, and physicians Bruce Feinberg, DO, of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, and Patti Forrest, MD, MBA of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina spoke of the cultural impediments to having honest conversations about end-of-life care. Dr Berger took the issue head-on by asking panelists what they would say to political leaders who used language like “death panels” to describe efforts to set standards for guiding such care.

Ms Berman, who has been living with stage four breast cancer, said one of the big challenges is “the notion that we don’t die…Death is simply a part of the life cycle, but we live in a denial mode.” Later, in a session with attendees, Ms Berman described her treatment choices, in which she has rejected surgeries that most patients with her prognosis would have pursued. She has stayed active, traveled around the world, and enjoyed a full schedule. Ms Berman narrated how she recently had a single, large dose of radiation for pain instead of several smaller doses after reading recommendations from the Choosing Wisely campaign–a less invasive, less expensive option. “I made choices that were logical choices, but not the choices most people make or would even discuss,” she said.

To read more about the Patient-Centered Oncology Care Meeting, click here.