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.

End of life physician-patient communication

Although a growing body of research supports a link between effective communication and patient, family and physician satisfaction, doctors, including oncologists and other specialists who frequently care for terminal patients, do not routinely receive training in end-of-life conversations during medical school, residency training, or after they start to practice medicine.

22 Jul 2008

Indiana health officials examine state's pandemic influenza ethics planning

Information relevant to Indiana's current pandemic influenza preparedness plan was presented July 16 during a symposium convened by the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, "The Ethics of Pandemic Influenza Planning in Indiana: What Have We Done and Where Are We Going?"

17 Jul 2008

Integrating palliative care for dementia into primary care

Greg A. Sachs, M.D., has received an award from the National Palliative Care Research Center to conduct a study aimed at improving quality of life and decreasing suffering for older adults and their family caregivers. The award is one of only two pilot project support grants funded by NPCRC in 2008.

14 Jul 2008

CMS rule requires hospice providers to track, improve quality of care delivered

CMS has issued a new rule requiring hospice providers participating in Medicare to implement a quality assessment and improvement system, the Washington Post reports.

2 Jul 2008

New support for mesothelioma sufferers in Australia

The Asbestos Research Group, offering hope to sufferers of asbestos-related diseases, was launched at The Wesley Research Institute today.

11 Jun 2008

Many patients with heart failure miscalculate life expectancy

Many patients with heart failure - especially younger ones and those with more severe disease - significantly overestimate how long they going to live, say Duke University Medical Center researchers.

3 Jun 2008

Improving cancer diagnosis and support services for Asian patients

There is a need to remove the major ethnic inequalities which still exist in access to cancer services and outcomes, according to the latest edition of Science & Public Affairs.

2 Jun 2008

Improving palliative care

Palliative care clinicians are increasingly faced with the problem of treating a wider range of diseases, and treating patients in all settings, not just in hospices or specialist units. This has created new challenges in the treatment of symptoms, which in turn creates a need for new research and practical recommendations to help palliative care clinicians and improve patient care.

2 Jun 2008

Acupuncture reduces pain and dysfunction in head and neck cancer patients after neck dissection

New data from a randomized, controlled trial found that acupuncture provided significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients after neck dissection. The study was led by David Pfister, MD, Chief of the Head and Neck Medical Oncology Service, and Barrie Cassileth, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Dr. Pfister presented the findings today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.

1 Jun 2008

Cancer survivors are living "in limbo" with unmet needs for care

Many long-term survivors of cancer are not receiving the necessary symptom management that they require to help them live with the consequences of their disease, its treatment, or both, according to a leading professor of palliative medicine.

28 May 2008

End-stage dementia patients deserve the same access to palliative care as people with cancer

There is an urgent need to improve end-of-life care for older people in the final stages of dementia, according to an international review published in the May issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

12 May 2008

Brain tumor care, treatment in spotlight

Patients, physicians, and those caring for loved ones with brain tumors will have an opportunity to attend two full days of programs hosted by health care professionals from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

24 Apr 2008

Slowing the spread of cancer in Albania

Once locked in decades of isolation, Albania is seeing new horizons in the fight against poverty. Expectations run high, driving demands for better - and healthier - lives.

23 Apr 2008

Combining liver cancer treatments doubles survival rates

By combining the use of stents and photodynamic therapy, also called SpyGlass, physicians at the University of Virginia have been able to significantly increase survival rates for patients suffering from advanced cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the liver bile duct.

16 Apr 2008

New guidelines for palliative care for children and adults

Palliative care was once reserved for patients when all curative options had been exhausted and death was imminent, but now it is considered an integral part of the care that should be available to patients with serious respiratory disorders and critical illnesses.

16 Apr 2008

Hospitalization linked to increased mortality in heart failure patients

Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of death if they are hospitalized for worsening heart failure symptoms, according to new research from UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham).

11 Apr 2008

Humour can play an essential role in the most serious healthcare settings

...even when patients are receiving intensive or end of life care, according to research in the April issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical Nursing.

9 Apr 2008

Study finds improvement in the care of children with cancer at the end of life

Expanded use of palliative care services is associated with enhanced communications between families and caregivers, improved symptoms management, and better quality of life for children dying from cancer, according to study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.

31 Mar 2008

Millionaire leaves millions for research into motor neuron disease

A self-made millionaire Peter Goodenough who died from motor neuron disease (MND) left more than $6 million to the University's Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to help find a cure for MND.

19 Mar 2008

Combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy improves survival in late stage liver cancer patients

A combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy may improve survival rates for patients suffering from advanced liver bile duct cancer, according to a study published this month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

12 Mar 2008