Breathlessness, functional status, distress, and palliative care needs over time in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lung cancer: a cohort study.

Context: Breathlessness is a distressing symptom in advanced disease. Understanding its patterns, burden, and palliative care (PC) needs over time is important to improve patients' quality of life.

Objectives: To describe and compare the courses of refractory breathlessness, functional status, distress, and PC needs in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer (LC) over time.