End-Of-Life Cancer Incidence: A Case Study
Abstract
When a patient is ordered to move from curative to palliative care, it can really take a toll on the patient, his or her family, as well as the physician. This can be due to the fact that end-of-life care is usually seen as the end. To make this worse, the healthcare providers do not always relay such information in a way that the family will completely understand. Sometimes, the healthcare professional will not let the family know that end-of-life care is necessary; he or she will just continue to give the patient medications that are futile to their well-being. In order to prevent this, there should be a set guideline for healthcare professionals to learn and follow when telling patients and their families that end-of-life …show more content…
Owing to technical advances in the care of critical illness, as it is the case in elderly people with advanced cancer, physicians, patients and families are often confronted with ambiguous circumstances in which medical advances may inadvertently prolong suffering and the dying process rather than bring healing and recovery.
False promises actually are worse than being upfront about the fact that in some cases, further treatment is useless. Because I want to eventually own a hospice facility, I believe that all healthcare professionals, regardless of their rank in the hospital, should be trained on the correct form of delivery when informing patients and family members of end-of-life issues. According to Lewis (2013), “Healthcare providers should recognize and understand that interventionist care may not be best for patients who are terminally ill” (p. 2). This is exactly why such training is …show more content…
(2013). Ethical issues in the geriatric patient with advanced cancer ‘living to the end’. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/content/24/suppl_7/vii55
Hyde, Y., & Kautz, D. (2010). What to Do When the Family Cannot Agree to Withdraw Life Support. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/sp-3.10.0b/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=
Kerai, S. M., & Wheeler, M. (2013). The Forgotten Educational Needs of the House Staff: Training Internal Medicine Residents to Address End-of-Life Issues. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/ehost/detail?sid=8752da98-533d-4102-b0d8-39a4cbcb76b2%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tfh&AN=88230741
Lee, J., & Cheng, J. (2013, October 7). Improving the Quality of End-of-Life Care in Long-Term Care Institutions. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from
When a patient is ordered to move from curative to palliative care, it can really take a toll on the patient, his or her family, as well as the physician. This can be due to the fact that end-of-life care is usually seen as the end. To make this worse, the healthcare providers do not always relay such information in a way that the family will completely understand. Sometimes, the healthcare professional will not let the family know that end-of-life care is necessary; he or she will just continue to give the patient medications that are futile to their well-being. In order to prevent this, there should be a set guideline for healthcare professionals to learn and follow when telling patients and their families that end-of-life …show more content…
Owing to technical advances in the care of critical illness, as it is the case in elderly people with advanced cancer, physicians, patients and families are often confronted with ambiguous circumstances in which medical advances may inadvertently prolong suffering and the dying process rather than bring healing and recovery.
False promises actually are worse than being upfront about the fact that in some cases, further treatment is useless. Because I want to eventually own a hospice facility, I believe that all healthcare professionals, regardless of their rank in the hospital, should be trained on the correct form of delivery when informing patients and family members of end-of-life issues. According to Lewis (2013), “Healthcare providers should recognize and understand that interventionist care may not be best for patients who are terminally ill” (p. 2). This is exactly why such training is …show more content…
(2013). Ethical issues in the geriatric patient with advanced cancer ‘living to the end’. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/content/24/suppl_7/vii55
Hyde, Y., & Kautz, D. (2010). What to Do When the Family Cannot Agree to Withdraw Life Support. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/sp-3.10.0b/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=
Kerai, S. M., & Wheeler, M. (2013). The Forgotten Educational Needs of the House Staff: Training Internal Medicine Residents to Address End-of-Life Issues. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/ehost/detail?sid=8752da98-533d-4102-b0d8-39a4cbcb76b2%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tfh&AN=88230741
Lee, J., & Cheng, J. (2013, October 7). Improving the Quality of End-of-Life Care in Long-Term Care Institutions. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from