A 'no-vomiting' ward created for cancer patients

A local hospital's innovative treatment can help reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients by 90 percent. The guidelines for promotion now include the "no-vomiting" practice.

Chemotherapy is a common treatment for cancer patients, and over half of patients should receive chemotherapy during their treatment, but nausea and vomiting always impact patients' life quality and their medical compliance.

According to experts, common chemotherapy medicines can influence the digestive systems, so certain patients can suffer nausea and vomiting. Some patients even refuse chemotherapy for fear of the negative effects.

To help patients better endure chemotherapy, Shanghai Cancer Center created a "no-vomiting" ward to reduce patients' negative effects through a comprehensive treatment plan.

As a leading cancer center, the hospital offers 217,000 chemotherapy services, including 43,500 hospitalized chemotherapy each year.

Effective management to reduce patients' negative effects and drop nausea and vomiting is extremely important to enhance treatment outcomes, said the hospital, whose medical teams from multiple departments started to develop a format with the participation of doctors, nurses, and patients to offer guidance and support during different stages of chemotherapy.

Medical staff will closely follow each patient and provide timely intervention and support the patient's condition.

The hospital conducted a study in one inpatient department, where medical professionals assessed each patient's health and developed an individualized treatment plan that included advice on diet, psychology, drug use, and traditional Chinese medicine treatments such as acupoint massage and aromatherapy.

"After implementing the management, we reduced the incidence of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINM) by 90 percent, earning our section the title of Shanghai's first batch of the CINM model ward. Our practice has been included in the guidelines for nationwide promotion," Dr Yu Xianjun, the hospital's president, said.