Preferences for aggressive care in underserved populations with advanced-stage lung cancer: looking beyond race and resuscitation.

Purpose: This paper examines the relationship between race, religiousness, spiritual well-being, antitumor treatment and preference for aggressive care among Black and White patients with advanced stage lung cancer receiving ambulatory cancer care in an urban setting.

Methods: A cross-sectional exploration of patients enrolled in a Cleveland-based longitudinal study after initial diagnosis of advanced lung cancer were interviewed in Cleveland regarding religiousness, spiritual well-being, preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), goals of aggressive care, and willingness to tolerate adverse health states. Receipt of antitumor treatment was identified from medical records.

Changing healthcare practice for older adults with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer: practical considerations of targeted therapy in primary care and oncology.

Healthcare practice for cancer care is rapidly evolving because of advances in technology, scientific discovery, drug development, and aging demographics in America. Among the substantive changes in science and drug development is targeted therapy. Targeted agents are changing the scope of practice in treating lung cancer-the leading cause of cancer death in older adults.

Comorbidities, functional limitations, and geriatric syndromes in relation to treatment and survival patterns among elders with colorectal cancer.

Purpose: To examine patterns of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment and survival in relation to comorbidities (COM), functional limitations (FL), and geriatric syndromes (GS).

Methods: Our study population consisted of Ohio elders diagnosed with incident invasive CRC in the period August 1999 to November 2001 and admitted to home health care (HHC) in the 30 days before or after cancer diagnosis (n = 1009). We used data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System, vital records, and Medicare administrative data, including the HHC Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS), which includes detailed clinical data for HHC patients.