Palliative Care Triggers for Oncology

I read the ASCO Post when I’m on airplanes.  At least I do, below 10,000 feet… and after I have finished the Sudoku. The ASCO Post is the People magazine of oncology.  The articles are short… typically one page, with lots of pictures consisting mostly of the authors.  It is medical journal lite, with terms and prose simple enough for a layman to both understand and to not fall asleep by the end of the article.  It probably can be best described as Oncology for Dummies. (Also, to give the full extent of its look and feel… there is usually one or two ads attached with that gooey stuff you try to pull off the paper, but the kind that usually snaps back and hits you in the eye.) In any event, the May 1st issue featured an article on access to care. The title suggested it was about patient access to oncologic care, depending on geographic and economic factors. That was a focus, but I’m glad I kept reading to see that it wasn’t the only focus. The last section of the article was titled, “Missed Opportunities for End-of-life Care?”  If I hadn’t kept reading, it definitely would have been a missed opportunity for me. The article summarized a manuscript in the Journal of Oncology Practice authored by Gabrielle B. Rocque, MD and her colleagues. This group analyzed data from their institutions and determined that an unscheduled hospitalization for a patient with advanced cancer, “strongly predicts survival of fewer than 6 months.” Wow....
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Authors: Source Type: blogs