Carla Ripamonti, MD

Carla Ripamonti graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan in 1983. As a post-graduate she specialized in Oncology (1987) and in Clinical Pharmacology (1991).

She was trained in: the Michael Sobell House Hospice, Northwood, London; the Continuing Care Unit c/o The Royal Marsden Hospital, London; the Palliative Care Unit, Edmonton General Hospital, Alberta University, Canada.

From 1983 to 2009, she worked at the Pain Therapy and Palliative Care division of the National Cancer Institute of Milan in research projects. Since 2009, she was named Director of Supportive Care, Cancer Unit (out-patients and Day Hospital) of the IRCCS Foundation, National Cancer Institute of Milano Italy, and working on the "BRIDGE Project", taking care for the patient and his/her family from diagnosis to the beginning of the end of life care.

Special areas of interest are pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of morphine and methadone; CNS adverse effects of opioids; opioid rotation; equianalgesia between methadone and other opioids; drugs used in managing inoperable bowel obstruction and dyspnea; attitudes towards suicide and euthanasia in terminal cancer patients cared for at home by well-trained palliative care teams.

She is a Consultant of the Collaborative Centre for Cancer Pain Relief of the World Health Organization, a Member of the Steering Committe of the Research Network of the European Association for Palliative Care, Vice Director of "School of training and updating in Palliative Medicine", National Cancer Institute of Milan, and Professor of Palliative Medicine at the School of Specialization in Oncology of the University of Milan.

She is the author of papers published in The New England J Medicine, The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pain, Cancer, Annals of Oncology, European J of Surgical Oncology, European J of Cancer, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Journal of Palliative Care, Palliative Medicine, European J of Palliative Care, as well as author of instruction manuals for doctors, nurses, volunteers regarding Palliative Medicine. In collaboration with Sebastiano Mercadante, she edited the book "Valutazione, diagnosi e trattamento del dolore da cancro" (Masson 2000). In collaboration with Eduardo Bruera, she edited of the book "Gastrointestinal symptoms in advanced cancer patients" (Oxford University Press 2001)