Palliative Chemotherapy: An Oxymoron

By Rebecca Gagne HendersonI was inspired to write this after reading the series of posts on Pallimed titled “Against Euphemisms” by Drew Rosielle. At its very best, the term “Palliative Chemotherapy” is an oxymoron. At its worst, it is a treatment that robs the patient and family of quality of life and valuable time may have been spent doing the things that are important to them.As a palliative consultant on a campus which does not house a cancer center my referrals typically come from hospitalist attending physicians rather than oncologists. I cannot begin to tell you the number of conversations I have had through the years with patients who had incurable cancer who thought their chemotherapy was for curative purposes. Rather than calling the cancer incurable or terminal the oncologist had told them their cancer was “treatable.” Ah, yet another euphemism.Let me tell of a patient who resembles many of my patients. I once had a stage IV cancer patient with carcinomatosis and temporal wasting with severe symptoms of anxiety and pain who had made the decision to go to a hospice by the ocean to watch the ships go by during her last days to weeks. An oncologist came in to consult and explained to the patient and me that with “palliative chemotherapy” she may live as long as two years. This patient opted for chemotherapy and died three weeks later writhing in pain without ever leaving the hospital and without the benefit of specialty hospice care. When we left ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Care Tags: cancer chemotherapy euphamisms gagne henderson palliative rebecca Source Type: blogs