Palliative care referrals coming too late

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that referrals to palliative care are coming too late to improve cancer patients' quality of life.
Palliative care, which is meant to support rather than cure the patient, is helpful for terminal cancer. But timing is everything, according to a new survey of family members of patients. Almost half of them felt the referral was given too late to really help the patient. Only three per cent felt the offer had come too early.

A factor in late referral was whether there had been previous discussions with the physician on end-of-life care. The major factor here was unwillingness on the part of the physician to have these talks - though family and patient unwillingness also played a part.

Once the patient was having palliative care, most families were impressed by it - including those who had had low expectations. These findings suggest that preparation for end-of-life care need to start early and must involve the patient, the family and the physician.

Source
Journal of Clinical Oncology 22nd February 2005