MEDPAGE TODAY – Mar. 4, 2014 – One of the hardest questions facing a family with a loved one whose cancer in progressing is whether to continue treatment. A study of 386 patients, published this week in the British Medical Journal suggests that chemotherapy in the last few months of life significantly increased the odds of undergoing intensive treatment in the final week of life. The result is delayed referral to hospice and the patient dying away from his or her preferred place of death. The findings raise questions about the value of palliative chemotherapy in terminally ill patients.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Intensive treatment may not be in patient's best interest
MEDPAGE TODAY – Mar. 4, 2014 – One of the hardest questions facing a family with a loved one whose cancer in progressing is whether to continue treatment. A study of 386 patients, published this week in the British Medical Journal suggests that chemotherapy in the last few months of life significantly increased the odds of undergoing intensive treatment in the final week of life. The result is delayed referral to hospice and the patient dying away from his or her preferred place of death. The findings raise questions about the value of palliative chemotherapy in terminally ill patients.
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