Pediatric blood & cancer
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Aug 2015
Differences in end-of-life communication for children with advanced cancer who were referred to a palliative care team.
There is a general consensus that involving a specialized palliative care team in the care of children with advanced cancer can help optimize end-of-life communication; however, how this compares to standard oncology care is still unknown. We aimed to determine whether there was an association between specialist palliative care involvement and improved end-of-life communication for children with advanced cancer and their families. ⋯ Children who receive standard oncology care are at higher risk of not receiving critical communication elements at end of life. Strategies to optimize end-of-life communication for children who are not referred to a palliative care team are needed.
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Pediatric blood & cancer · Aug 2015
Persistent racial and ethnic differences in location of death for children with cancer.
Approximately one in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before reaching their 20th birthday. While both oncologists and parents report a preference that these children die at home rather than in a hospital, there are limited data exploring this issue in depth. ⋯ There has been no significant change in the rate of children with cancer who die at home over the past decade. Racial and ethnic differences have persisted in end of life care for children with cancer with white non-Hispanic children being most likely to die at home.