A while back there was an Associated Press story "Doctors Say Futile Cancer Treatment Rising," which appeared in many newspapers around the country. The story was about how doctors are increasingly concerned about the rise in a number of their cancer treating colleagues giving chemotherapy later and later to people who are at incurable stages of their illness...Here's the article if you missed it: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CANCER_OVERKILL?SITE=FLDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.
Appropriate care for a terminally ill person begins with good, open and honest discussion between the physician, the patient and the family. It's a hard conversation to have but a full range of care options should be explored, including the emotional, spiritual and home nursing support available in hospice care, to help families decide the best course of action.
Often people aren't aware that there are options, and it prevents patients who have an incurable illness from receiving the most appropriate care for their situation. New chemotherapies sometimes can slow disease progression but also can have intense, quality of life side effects. Palliative care programs now offer the best of both choices, combining active treatments with pain and symptom management, spiritual and emotional support.
Hospice Foundation has funded the start up of three such programs in Monterey and San Benito counties, California, that give patients yet another option, but these are still only available in an inpatient setting. One day, hopefully, appropriate end-of-life care will be a seamless thing...no need for any choice...it just happens in health care delivery because it's the right thing to do, at the right time. -- Alice Kinsler, President and CEO
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