Survey Study of Awareness and Perception of Palliative and Hospice Care in a Cancer Center in Rural Pennsylvania.

Hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) have been gaining ground especially in large urban settings. However, less is known about their perception in small rural areas. This study assessed the awareness and perception of a rural oncology population of this field and the effects of prognosis on their awareness.

Palliative Chemotherapy: Does It Only Provide False Hope? The Role of Palliative Care in a Young Patient With Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Adenocarcinoma.

A 48-year-old female with recent diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of unknown origin and metastatic disease to the peritoneum initially presented to a nearby academic hospital with abdominal pain. She underwent exploratory laparotomy with tumor debulking surgery at that time. Shortly thereafter, she was readmitted to the same hospital with evidence of partial small bowel obstruction and treated conservatively with bowel rest, nasogastric (NG) tube placement, and intravenous (IV) fluid administration.

The Intensive Palliative Care Unit: Changing Outcomes for Hospitalized Cancer Patients in an Academic Medical Center.

Background: Patients with advanced cancer often require complex symptom management. At Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, the intensive palliative care unit (IPCU) admits symptomatic oncology patients with uncontrolled symptoms throughout the trajectory of illness. Patients are uniquely managed by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians who focus on symptom management and advance care planning.

Racial Disparities in End-of-Life Care Among Patients With Prostate Cancer: A Population-Based Study.

Objective: To examine racial disparities in end-of-life (EOL) care among black and white patients dying of prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: Relying on the SEER-Medicare database, 3789 patients who died of metastatic PCa between 1999 and 2009 were identified. Information was assessed regarding diagnostic care, therapeutic interventions, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and emergency department visits in the last 12 months, 3 months, and 1 month of life.