Pediatric palliative care: We must do more

How is it that, in this day and age, a talented teenager treated for lymphoma emerges cured but with a life-threatening eating disorder? How is it that, in our nation’s capital, a boy dying at home from neuroblastoma experiences excruciating pain in his final moments? How is that, when we develop new drugs to treat children with cancer, we do not, at the same time, routinely and in a standardized manner ask them how they are feeling? As a pediatric oncologist and palliative care physician, I was alarmed by stories like these at the recent Institute of Medicine Workshop on Comprehensive Care for Children with Cancer that I co-chaired. Rather than being buoyed by how far we’ve come since I began this work two decades ago, I left chastened by how far we still have to go. Children with cancer and their families are known to receive high levels of supportive care compared with children who have serious illnesses other than cancer. Yet, as became clear in the workshop, supportive care for pediatric oncology is not yet a gold standard. This suggests that other seriously ill children fare even worse. At a time when more and more children with cancer and other serious illnesses are surviving or living longer, we must make such support an integral part of treatment at all stages of children’s illness. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Palliative care Pediatrics Source Type: blogs