In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.
The findings, published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed what palliative care specialists had long suspected. The study also, experts said, cast doubt on the decision to strike end-of-life provisions from the health care overhaul passed last year.
This quote, from a NY Times article, is yet another affirmation of a fact that we already know - hospice care improves and extends a patient's final months. Citing a three-year study done on patients with fast growing lung cancer, the article states that those receiving some sort of palliative care immediately after diagnosis managed to live three months longer than the group receiving standard care while reporting less depression and happier lives with fewer worries about problems caused by their illness.
Hospice Care Corporation is a nonprofit organization that brings compassion, care and support to individuals and their families transitioning through life-limiting illness while providing outreach, education and expertise in grief support to the entire community. This blog exists to help further understanding of hospice.
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