Dr. Abrahm speaks to a range of audiences about palliative care for patients with cancer.
Her unique perspective is informed by her 20 years of work in oncology along with her over 20 years in palliative care.
Dr. Abrahm can offer solutions to oncology clinicians seeking to ameliorate their patients’ suffering, and their own.
She understands the moral injury, moral distress, disenfranchised grief, and burnout they often experience while working hard to provide compassionate cancer care.
Audiences leave better informed, more effective, and importantly, more empowered in the face of patient suffering, knowing they have something to offer even when the patient’s disease no longer responds to treatment.
Testimonials
“Dr. Abrahm is a master clinician and educator. Her counsel is wise yet practical and her judgment is impeccable.”
Michael Fisch, MD, MPH
Clinical Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Senior National Medical Director, Oncology Programs and Genetics, Carelon Medical Benefits Management
“I’ve had the enormous privilege of working side by side with the great doctors throughout my career. Dr Abrahm transcends as an uncommon source of experience and wisdom for all practicing oncologists.”
David Ryan, MD
Chief Hematology Oncology, MGH; Clinical Director, MGH cancer center; Shelby Memorial Professor of Medicine in the Field of Cancer Therapeutics, Harvard Medical School
“Through her books, talks, seminars, counseling, or training, Dr. Abrahm consistently demonstrates her consummate understanding of blending the art and science of caring for cancer patients and their family. She is a resource beyond measure.”
Kathleen M Foley, MD
Member Emeritus, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
“Dr. Abrahm is the go-to expert for symptom management as well as the role model for how to have essential conversations with patients about their values, goals and wishes in order to ensure they receive the care they want.”
Lynn M Schuchter, MD
Professor of Medicine, Director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center, Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania; 2023-2024 ASCO president
“Her ability to go toe-to-toe with the best in American medicine while maintaining excellence, grace, and humor, makes her an icon among physicians in our field.”
Charles F von Gunten, MD, PhD
Past Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Palliative Care
“Dr. Abrahm is a spectacular clinician, a world authority on pain and symptom management, a superb teacher, and an extraordinary mentor. She has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge about palliative medicine. Her knowledge and ready accessibility have made her a go to team member for complicated clinical questions.”
James Tulsky, MD
Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
"Dr Abrahm is a brilliant clinician, whose empathy, warmth, humor, and knowledge improve the care for all her patients. Those same virtues emerge in her sparkling lectures, which are the highlight of any oncology symposium.”
Harold J Burstein, MD, PhD, FACP
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Editor in Chief, JNCCN, Chair, ASCO guidelines on endocrine therapy for breast cancer
“I have worked with Janet Abrahm in the US and international settings. She is a sensitive, thorough and deeply knowledgeable. She is always able to read her audience and adjust her style to meet their needs. This is not easy to do, and Janet does this effortlessly and gracefully.”
Joshua Hauser, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Director, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Featured Topics
Cancer patients suffer not only from the disease but may also suffer from a host of devastating physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or spiritual problems throughout the course of their illness. In this overview talk, Dr. Abrahm updates approaches to these, including:
- How to choose the safest most effective opioids and antipsychotics.
- How to have important conversations with the patient and/ or family at the time of diagnosis, during active therapy, or after developing advanced disease.
- How to better communicate with patients and families for whom English is not their language of choice
Oncologists have a terribly difficult job. They care for so many of their patients who despite their best efforts, suffer and die. This cumulative grief oncologists suffer often goes unnamed and unacknowledged. Dr. Abrahm will share how to recognize the various forms of grief clinicians, patients, and families my manifest, and how to support them in their grief before and after the patient dies. Professional caregivers, especially trainees, often share this disenfranchised grief, and she discusses how to support them as they care for patients who are dying.
Dr. Abrahm further discusses the signs and symptoms of moral distress and burnout and offers ideas for prevention and treatment both for palliative care clinicians and oncologists. She reviews how to recognize oncologists’ feelings of burnout and fatigue and give them strategies to help them continue to care for these patients and their families.
Despite our best efforts, many patients with cancer will die from it or complications of treatment. Oncology clinicians want to care for their patients even when they have no more therapies to offer to slow the disease. Dr. Abrahm offers suggestions for how to let patients and families know when the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits, how to discuss prognosis when it’s only weeks or months, what to expect as patients die and how to communicate that to the patient and caregivers. She shares what it means when patients expect Miracles, and how to partner with these patients and their families. She also discusses the different services they can expect from home nursing services and hospice programs.
Because of Dr. Abrahm’s deep and multi-pronged experience as an oncologist, national and international leader in the field of palliative care for cancer patients, extensive administrative leadership experience, and recognition as an award-winning educator, she is often asked to talk about what leadership means in the medical profession. A few of the topics she addresses include what it is to be an innovator in her field, what is has been to be one of only a few women in the field, what being a good mentor and mentee looks like, and how to lead as an introvert. Her talks are consistently noted for their insight, authenticity, and wisdom.
Custom talks available upon request.
Audiences include:
- Oncologists and the nurses and nurse practitioners with whom they work
- Palliative care specialists.
- Medical students and post graduate trainees as well as nurse practitioner trainees.
- Anyone at any stage of training or experience in the field who assesses or develops care plans for cancer patients.