Palliative Care News and Research

RSS

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.

Discontinuing statins in patients with advanced illnesses improves quality of life

People in the late stages of cancer and other terminal illnesses are not only unharmed by discontinuing statins for cholesterol management, they may benefit, according to a study presented Friday by researchers at Duke Medicine representing a national research network.

31 May 2014

Older people who undertake exercise are less likely to be admitted in hospital

Older people who undertake at least 25 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise everyday need fewer prescriptions and are less likely to be admitted to hospital in an emergency, new research has revealed.

28 May 2014

Health Ethics Australia aims at improving literacy, compassion around death

Knowledge and information empowers people facing a terminal diagnosis or end of life, delegates heard at the National Medicines Symposium in Brisbane last week.

27 May 2014

Lung cancer screening guidelines could cost Medicare billions

A study of Medicare beneficiaries with a history of heavy smoking found that new lung cancer screening guidelines would likely double the proportion of lung cancers found at an early stage, but at a steep cost of more than $9 billion over five years.

16 May 2014

Psychologists and physicians help address barriers to improved primary health care

Primary care teams that include both psychologists and physicians would help address known barriers to improved primary health care, including missed diagnoses, a lack of attention to behavioral factors and limited patient access to needed care, according to health care experts writing in a special issue of American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association.

9 May 2014

Virginia researchers develop new combination therapy that could potentially treat multiple myeloma

Each year, more than 25,000 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that often develops resistance to therapies.

2 May 2014

UMC Utrecht and Quirem Medical team up to develop holmium microspheres for liver cancer

Over the next few years, the University Medical Center Utrecht and Quirem Medical will be working closely together to maximize the benefits of using holmium microspheres to treat liver cancer patients worldwide. The unique properties of holmium microspheres will enable effective treatment planning, dosimetry en treatment evaluation, thereby further improving the results of patients who undergo radioembolization.

25 Apr 2014

Researchers uncover Noxa and MCL-1 as potential targets for small cell lung cancers therapies

Approximately 15 percent of all lung cancers are small cell lung cancers (SCLC), which grow rapidly and often develop resistance to chemotherapy. However, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have revealed new insights into the mechanisms leading to this resistance that may lead to improved therapies.

25 Apr 2014

Doctors still make good money

An annual survey shows that doctors, on average, still make at least three times the annual median household income. Media outlets also describe other trends, including the return of house calls, often as part of hospital palliative care programs, the use of scribes to help with digital records, rushed doctors' visits and a study finding that free drug samples influence doctors' prescribing practices.

21 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 21, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a GAO report on how the Obama administration raised money from outside groups to promote the health law.

21 Apr 2014

Researchers study the impact of "animal interventions" in healthcare settings for children

While many people have an opinion on whether animals can help to improve wellbeing and care for patients in hospitals, does anyone really know whether there are benefits both for the patients and the animals themselves?

10 Apr 2014

Study: A record number of elderly people are completing living wills to guide end-of-life medical treatments

A record number of elderly people are completing living wills to guide end-of-life medical treatments - up from 47 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2010 - according to new research from the University of Michigan and the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

3 Apr 2014

New studies mark key advances in understanding role of spiritual interventions in healthcare

Four new studies mark important advances in understanding the role of spiritual care in treating people facing serious illness.

1 Apr 2014

Studies reveal role of spiritual care in treating people facing serious illnesses

Two of six studies released today, reveal important advances in understanding the role of spiritual care in treating people facing serious illness, including cancer and ALS. Until now, no empirical data has existed on the contributions of chaplains in health care.

31 Mar 2014

Study: Sexual dysfunction common with lung cancer

Many lung cancer patients suffer difficulties with sexual expression and intimacy, yet for too long the topic has been ignored by doctors and researchers, experts have said at the 4th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC).

28 Mar 2014

Celgene reiterates commitment to increase awareness and understanding of pancreatic cancer

With pancreatic cancer poised to become the third leading cause of cancer death in Europe, Celgene International Sàrl, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, has today reiterated its commitment to patients and their families with the announcement that it will focus significant resources to increase awareness and understanding of the disease.

19 Mar 2014

Hepatitis C drug fuels cost debate

A panel of experts said this week that the drug represents a "low value" to the health system because of its cost.

13 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 12, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about the Obama administration's latest tallies regarding how many Americans have signed up for Obamacare coverage and the outcome of a Florida special election that was marked by health law themes.

12 Mar 2014

Report calls for better palliative and EOL care for patients that relapse following transplant

Haematological disorders of the blood and bone marrow, such as leukaemia, are commonly treated with a bone marrow transplant. However relapse is common and often leads to treatment failure and death.

26 Feb 2014

Fred Hutchinson, SCCA researchers receive Seattle Business Magazine's 2014 Leaders in Health Care Awards

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) were recognized in several categories of Seattle Business Magazine's 2014 Leaders in Health Care Awards, including the publication's Lifetime Achievement Award, given to Frederick R. Appelbaum, M.D., executive vice president and deputy director of Fred Hutch and president of SCCA.