Palliative Care News

Among children of cancer patients, general family dysfunction prior to diagnosis appears to be highly predictive of emotional distress and psychosocial issues after learning of their parent’s condition, according to study published online in Cancer.

In an editorial published in the British Medical Journal, the publication’s editors suggest an assisted dying bill, introduced to the House of Lords by Lord Charles Falconer, be enacted into law in England and Wales.

When it comes to the avoidance of unnecessary tests, procedures or treatments, there is arguably no setting in which it is more important to choose wisely than end-of-life care. Hospice practitioners and palliative care specialists, by definition, seek to avoid unnecessary pain, anxiety, or expense for their patients.

The theme of this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting, “Science and Society,” emphasized patient-centered focus — looking at the full implications of a study result for patient quality of life — and the overall societal value, or significance, of a finding or treatment.

When I was doing my medical training, I couldn’t help but notice a tension in everyday caregiving to sick patients.

CHICAGO — Early implementation of a phone-based palliative care support program improved quality of life for caregivers of patients with advanced cancer, according to results of a randomized trial presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

Dying does not have to be a miserable experience, particularly when supports are in place, according to researchers Sarah Hales, MD, and Gary Rodin, MD.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound alleviated pain from bone metastases among patients who had failed standard therapies, according to phase 3 study results.

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” – Aldous Huxley

Patients with blood cancers received substantially more aggressive care in their final 30 days of life than those with solid tumors, according to results of a retrospective cohort study.