Perspectives on Death and Dying by the Bereaved Designated Personal Representatives of Women Diagnosed With Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a complex disease with variability in disease subtype, length of survival, treatment selection, symptom burden, and, ultimately, end-of-life (EOL) care. Influencing factors that contribute to the complexity of this disease are socioeconomic factors, provider differences, and patient and family preferences. Because of this variability, it is challenging for health care providers to know when treatments are no longer helpful but contribute to a poor quality of end-of-life care and a poor death experience for both patients and their families.

The Quality of End-of-Life Care for Women Deceased From Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) carries unique disease burdens with potential for poor-quality end-of-life (EOL) care. It is the purpose of this article to explore the association of poor-quality EOL care indicators according to key tumor, demographic, social, and clinical factors. End-of-life quality indicators were based on Emanuel and Emanuel's good death model in conjunction with Earle et al (2003).

Prevalence, pattern, and probability for goals of care discussions among women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: High quality advanced cancer care includes goals of care (GOC) discussions and should be tailored according to clinical diagnosis, patient characteristics, and in concordance with patient's goals. Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and treatment has heterogeneity according to subtype which makes the timing of initiating and continuing GOC discussions challenging. With an ever-increasing array of therapy, women with advanced stage disease are unique survivors in that they receive relatively aggressive cancer care to not only palliative symptoms but extend survival time.