Carla Ida 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.