“One can die, but cannot fall ill”– A Survey on how costs may affect choice of therapy in Singapore

An article by Song Chiek Quah of the National Cancer Centre in Singapore   Introduction Continued advances in medical care in the recent years have given some hope to patients afflicted with diseases that, in the past, have poor prognoses. However it would seem that hope comes at a price, at least within the Singaporean context. This […]

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Study finds US hospitals consistently under-perform when it comes to end-of-life cancer care

A study conducted by researchers at Dartmouth University has found that many late-stage cancer patients in the US are receiving unsatisfactory care, with healthcare facilities not fulfilling quality care guidelines. The team concluded that whilst cancer care has improved over recent years, over a quarter of outpatient oncology practices studied did not adhere to end-of-life quality […]

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Beyond Pain Relief: Non-Pharmacological Care Activities in Palliative Care

Professionals who care for people at the end of life do much more than prescribe drugs, a new study has shown. The qualitative analysis published last month in the journal PLoS Medicine revealed that the day-to-day activities of palliative caregivers throughout Europe are highly multifaceted and complex. The study used qualitative research methods to identify […]

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The deafening silence surrounding end-of-life care

Californians are not having important discussions about end-of-life preferences with doctors and loved-ones, even though they would like to. A poll conducted by the California Healthcare Foundation (CHFC) shows that a large majority of respondents would either ‘definitely’ (47%) or ‘probably’ (32%) like to speak to a doctor about their wishes for medical treatment at […]

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New guidelines recommend that palliative care be integrated with standard cancer care

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) have published a provisional clinical opinion (PCO) which suggests that palliative care should play a larger role in standard cancer care, and that cancer patients should be offered palliative care earlier in their treatment. The PCO is based on evidence from seven recently published randomised controlled trials which […]

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Professor Irene Higginson talks about how more people in the UK are dying at home.

Professor Irene Higginson, Director of the Cicely Saunders Institute and Associate Editor of Supportive and Palliative Care, spoke today of the recent promising trend of more cancer deaths occurring at home in the UK. In an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme, Professor Higginson highlighted the findings of a recent report which indicates that the […]

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