Treatment at the end of life
I came across this piece by way of my old stomping grounds, Nobel Intent.
It's a press release about a study conducted at Dana Farber in Boston that indicates that many cancer patients continued to receive aggressive treatments even during their last two weeks of life. While the study tracked treatment through 1999, one would think that attitudes would be more enlightened, and that patients (and their families) would instead opt for comfort over treatment in the very late stages of terminal cancer. I am reminded of a movie quote, "Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness." It seems that this is truly the case, especially when it comes to cancer.
More and more people are receiving appropriate hospice care, but too often it appears that doctors "are treating patients up to the end and then saying, go to the hospice," Earle said. This interpretation was based on data showing that an increasing number of patients who were seen in emergency rooms or admitted to intensive care units during the last month of life. At the same time, however, there was a drop in the number of cancer patients dying in acute-care hospitals, and that more terminal patients were using hospice facilities.
"As oncologists," said Earle, "we need to make sure that we view hospice care for what it is, an important part of the care continuum that focuses on keeping patients comfortable and free of pain."
Emphasis mine. Hospice is an old practice compared to modern allopathic treatments, but it has largely been overlooked in the last century in favor of heroic measures. Its goal is to allow a terminal patient and their families time to tie up loose ends, emotionally prepare for the end, and provide comfort and counseling to both parties when the final parting comes. Too often, it receives little emphasis, probably because its implication is that all hope is lost — a sentiment that defies the human spirit. However acceptance can lead to a more peaceful end for the patient and their loved ones, particularly with the help of skilled hospice personnel.
[tags]medicine, pharmacy, hospice, cancer, oncology, end of life[/tags]
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