|
Palliative
Care in Children With Cancer: Which Child and
When?
At
a time of increasing interest in palliative care in
pediatrics, pediatric oncology programs may be
failing to deliver adequate palliation to children
with cancer. In a recent study, parents of children
who died on a pediatric oncology service reported
that despite treatment at the end of life, their
children's suffering was not adequately relieved
and that parents were more likely than caregivers
to recognize their children's suffering. Why do
pediatric oncologists fail? First, death in
children from cancer is a rare event. Second, few
prospective trials in the field of pediatric
palliative care describe and quantify symptoms
during cure-directed care or at the end of life.
This leads to a lack of evidence-based practice and
forces the clinician to use personal experience and
trial-by-error medical care. ...
See
Full Article
|
Late
Referrals to Specialized Palliative Care Service in
Japan
The
WHO defines palliative care as "an approach that
improves the quality of life of patients and their
families facing the problems associated with
life-threatening illness," and states that this is
achieved "through the prevention and relief of
suffering by means of early identification and
impeccable assessment and treatment."1 Although
palliative care is rooted in compassionate care for
dying patients, the primary aim of palliative care
is to minimize patient and family suffering at all
stages of life-threatening illness.1 Early
referrals to specialized palliative care service,
that is, immediate referrals to palliative care
specialists when patient and family require
specialized care for adequate symptom relief, could
be useful in achieving this goal through early and
systematic detection....
See
Full Article
|
