The 2004 Helene Hudson Memorial Lecture: Telling the story of SARS: Compassionate oncology care in the face of a futuristic health crisis

Abstract

On behalf of my colleagues, Janice Stewart, Colleen Johnson and Carolyn Saunders, we would like to thank CANO for the opportunity to share our experience on how oncology nurses can make a difference in a time of crisis. We would also like to thank AMGEN for the sponsorship of the Helene Hudson lectureship.

Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Together with the Ontario Cancer Institute, PMH is a member of the University Health Network, which also includes the Toronto General Hospital and the Toronto Western Hospital. It is the only facility in Canada devoted exclusively to cancer research, treatment and education.

The patient volumes at PMH are very high. The hospital sees about 10,000 new patients a year and has 130 inpatient beds, which includes both allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplants. On a daily basis, 500 radiation treatments, 130 outpatient chemotherapy patients and 30 outpatient blood product transfusions are given. In total, 190,000 patients are treated annually as outpatients for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.