We were in the fight together: The expectations of bereaved caregivers of patients with acute myeloid leukemia from diagnosis to death.

Purpose: Patients with hematologic malignancies are more optimistic than their oncologists and their expectations may be a barrier to timely hospice care. Patient expectations toward the end of life (EOL), however, have not been characterized. In this study, we analyzed interviews of bereaved caregivers to understand the expectations of patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and the factors that influenced those expectations, from diagnosis until death.

Goals of care communication and higher-value care for patients with advanced-stage cancer: A systematic review of the evidence.

Context: Goals-of-care communication (GOCC) is recommended to increase the value of cancer care near the end of life (EOL).

Objectives: Conduct a systematic review of the evidence that GOCC is associated with higher-value care.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMB Reviews, CINAHL, and PsycInfo from inception to July 2019.

Bereaved Informal Caregivers Rarely Recall a Relationship Between Transfusions and Hospice in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Aims: The inability to prescribe blood transfusions is a potential barrier to timely hospice enrollment for patients with blood cancers. The benefits and harms of transfusions near the end of life (EOL), however, are poorly characterized and patients' preferences are unknown. We sought to characterize the recollections of bereaved caregivers about the relationships between transfusions and hospice enrollment decisions.