Dying Peace

Dying Peace  By Johnson Wu, DO

Austin Family Medicine Resident, Tuesday, August 19, 2014 

 A recent CBC News story showcased a research study conducted by Harvard Medical School and Cornell Medical College that examined what happens to patients who received palliative chemotherapy. Palliative chemotherapy is the use of medications for cancer patients to ease symptoms and prolong survival but not to cure their disease. The study showed that 68 percent of patients who received palliative chemotherapy died in the place they wanted; within this group, 47 percent died at home. By contrast, 80 percent of patients who did not receive palliative chemotherapy died in the place they wished, and among these patients, 66 percent died at home. Unfortunately, patients who received palliative chemotherapy were less likely to realize their illness was terminal and less likely to discuss end-of-life care with their families and physicians.

Full text:    http://www.meandmydoctor.com/   

References cited in Dr. Wu’s above article (published in NEJM)

http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1000678

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1204410