Palliative Care News and Research

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Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Study identifies variations in non-pharmacological palliative care

Faced with the inevitability of death, we all wish for good caregiving during the final stage of our lives. A new study from Karolinska Institutet and Ume- University shows that non-pharmacological caregiving at the end of life in specialized palliative care is not as basic as one might believe but is based on complex professional decisions that weave physical, psychosocial and existential dimensions into a functional whole.

16 Feb 2012

Cancer-related fatigue linked to muscle mass and strength

Many patients with advanced cancer suffer from cachexia, a condition also called body-wasting or wasting syndrome, which causes significant weight loss, extreme fatigue and reduces quality of life.

10 Feb 2012

Free, online community for oncology nurses

UBM Medica, a recognized leader in medical media and education, and UBM DeusM, the integrated services arm of UBM, today announced the launch of The Oncology Nurse Community (www.theONC.org), a free, online community exclusively for oncology nurses and the cancer care teams that support them.

6 Feb 2012

Takeda, SPI announce that lubiprostone phase 3 trial on OBD meets primary endpoint

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. announced today that lubiprostone met the primary endpoint in a phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain, excluding those taking methadone.

2 Feb 2012

Roundtable discusses importance and potential benefits of palliative care in the ICU

If you think palliative care and the ICU don't go together, think again. The importance and potential benefits of palliative care to ease suffering and improve quality of life for patients being treated in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) has received increasing recognition but is not without significant challenges, as discussed in a Roundtable discussion in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

1 Feb 2012

Hospice of the Western Reserve receives Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation grant

Hospice of the Western Reserve is one of five organizations nationwide to receive a grant from Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation, a non-profit organization in Charlotte, N.C., founded by four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.

31 Jan 2012

Elderly and ill patients connect to their doctors via broadband: Pilot Australian project

Now elderly patients and severely ill cancer patients will be able to see their specialist or GP with the click of a mouse, even if they are hundreds of kilometres away. This will be possible with a $20.6 million pilot program that starts this July. The program will use the national broadband network to deliver telehealth services to older Australians, cancer patients and those in palliative care.

23 Jan 2012

Aseracare hospice in a federal lawsuit brought forth by whistleblowers

According to a federal lawsuit, AseraCare Hospice submitted “false and fraudulent” claims for payment to the U.S. and misspent millions of dollars in Medicare money meant for the care of terminally ill patients. AseraCare, based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, runs 65 hospice centers in 19 states, according to the lawsuit.

4 Jan 2012

JAMA highlights Oregon's Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment program

Oregon's groundbreaking Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment program (POLST) is featured in the latest edition of the Journal of The American Medical Association.

4 Jan 2012

New UA cancer research centre to focus on personalised treatment options

A new cancer research centre established at the University of Adelaide will focus on treatment options tailored to the individual, taking into account DNA and genetic variations between people.

20 Dec 2011

Individualised approach to cancer medicine considering genetic variations

A new cancer research centre established at the University of Adelaide will focus on treatment options tailored to the individual, taking into account DNA and genetic variations between people.

19 Dec 2011

IGN joins BCCA Genome Science Center

Illumina, Inc. today announced that the British Columbia Cancer Agency's (BCCA) Genome Science Center has joined the Illumina Genome Network (IGN). IGN is designed to link researchers needing large-scale whole human genome sequencing with leading institutions that provide this application as a service using industry-leading Illumina sequencing platforms.

19 Dec 2011

2012 to open up opportunities in booming Australian home care industry

Spending on home care services could grow to up to $11 billion per year if industry deregulation plans are adopted by the Federal Government, according to a forecast from one of the country’s leading home care providers.

18 Dec 2011

Scientists discover gene that causes Weaver syndrome

Scientists have found a gene that causes Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that typically causes large size at birth, tall stature, developmental delay during childhood, and intellectual disability.

16 Dec 2011

More female doctors than male - gender equality or feminization of the profession?

New research asks if medicine is fast becoming a woman’s domain. In the UK, female doctors are set to outnumber their male counterparts by 2017, a trend that British press headlines have dubbed “worrying” and “bad for medicine.”

30 Nov 2011

URMC earns Gold Seal of Approval for Palliative Care Program

In the latest development in its decades-long leadership in the area of palliative care, the University of Rochester Medical Center's Palliative Care Program is one of the first nationwide to earn advanced certification from the Joint Commission, the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

29 Nov 2011

QUT to study why futile medical treatment is provided to dying patients

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will undertake a study into why futile medical treatment is, at times, provided to dying patients.

29 Nov 2011

Physicians want more palliative care despite barriers

A new poll shows that doctors believe that quality of life for dying patients is more important than working to extend that patient's life for as long as possible.

17 Nov 2011

Risk of heart failure appears to be higher among low-income seniors

The risk of heart failure appears to be higher among low-income seniors — even those with a college education — according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented during the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

15 Nov 2011

New initiative to integrate and increase use of palliative care in ED

A new national initiative, IPAL-EM (Improving Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine) will integrate and increase the use of palliative care when seriously ill patients are admitted to the emergency department.

10 Nov 2011