Despite the high frequency and severity of fatigue among patients with advanced cancer receiving immunotherapy, there are limited treatment options available. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of the methylphenidate (MP) with standardized physical activity (PA) on cancer related fatigue (CRF).

In this pilot study, patients with advanced cancer with clinically significant CRF (<34 on Functional Assessment of Cancer Illness Therapy – fatigue scale, FACIT-F), on anti-PD1 immunotherapy were eligible. Patients were randomized to standardized PA with either patient-controlled MP 5 mg (MP + PA arm) or matching Placebo (Pl + PA arm) twice daily for 14 days. The primary outcome was the change in the FACIT-F score. Secondary outcomes included changes in fatigue dimensions (Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MSFI-SF), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General (FACT-G), Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue (PROMIS-F), and hospital anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Of the 40 randomized patients, 34 were evaluable. The FACIT-F scores significantly improved in both the arms with mean (SD) change, effect size (ES) of 11(14), 0.87(P < .001); and 9(12), 0.74(P = .04) in MP + PA, and Pl + PA arms respectively. We also found significant improvements in PROMIS-F, ES − 1.05(P = .003), MFSI-SF(global), ES − 1.32(P < .001), and HADS-depression, ES − 0.92(P = .004) in the MP + PA arm; There were no significant differences in adverse events between groups.

Our preliminary study found MP + PA was associated with significant improvement in CRF scores. The fatigue dimensions and depression scores significantly improved in the MP + PA arm. Further comparative studies using MP + PA for CRF are justified.

Most people at the end of life wish to die at home. Lay carers are crucial to supporting a home death and key to a good death is management of symptoms; this may prevent unwanted hospital admissions. If a dying person is too weak to swallow, regular medicines are administered continuously via subcutaneous (SC) cannula. When symptoms “break through,” additional (or as-needed) doses can be given, usually by a visiting healthcare professional. Delayed symptom control can occur due to time taken for healthcare professionals to arrive at the home.

Lay carers can be trained to administer as-needed SC medicines; the practice is safe and legal in the UK, although not widely used. The “CARer-Administration of as-needed SC medication for breakthrough symptoms in people dying at home” (CARiAD) feasibility trial of lay carer administration in the UK was the first to conduct in-depth interviews with carers trained in the practice.

The objective of this paper is to give voice to carers and show how experiences reflect benefits and challenges of lay administration at the end of life.

Qualitative interviews with carers trained in the practice. Interviews were analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.

Caring for a loved one at home during the last days of life is complex. Accounts reveal a desire to fulfill a loved one’s wishes by keeping them at home and having the death they wanted. Carers were afraid of uncontrolled symptoms, especially pain, empowered by the ability to help and grateful to avoid long delays. Potential for carer burden and fears of hastening death require careful reassurance from health care professionals.

We learned that carers endorsed and embraced the opportunity to do more to keep their loved ones comfortable and at home. This is significant in making the case for wider access to the practice in the UK.

Patients with advanced cancer, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals can differ in their preferences for patient treatment and care. The objectives of this study were to (1) identify what healthcare professionals in specialist palliative care feel aids or challenges patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers to manage their discordance, and (2) decipher what is helpful or challenging for healthcare professionals themselves to manage discordance between patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.

A qualitative study was conducted comprising online focus groups with 19 healthcare professionals from different professions in specialist palliative care. Participants were purposively and snowball sampled, and recruited from specialist palliative care settings, including hospital, hospice, and community-based care. The data were member checked and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Trust and consistent communication between the patient, caregiver, and healthcare professional, were considered by participants as helpful for patients and caregivers to manage discordance. Emotional and psychological burden for both the patient and caregiver together with preexisting conflict between the patient and caregiver, were perceived as barriers for patients and caregivers to manage their discordance. Knowledge and expertise gained from practice combined with professional resilience and peer support enabled participants to help patients and caregivers navigate discordance. Relational conflict between the patient and caregiver combined with participants’ own uncertainty about ethical and legal connotations of helping the patient and caregiver resolve their differences, were barriers to helping the patient and caregiver manage their discordance.

Interventions focused on assisting patients with advanced cancer in palliative care and their caregivers manage their differences in decision-making could serve to alleviate emotional burden for both the patient and caregiver. Healthcare professionals in specialist palliative care value the perspective of both patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers when helping them manage their discordance in decision-making.