Journal of palliative medicine
-
Honoring the wishes of cancer patients is a responsibility of oncologists; however, end-of-life care (EOLC) discussions are frequently delayed past the point of usefulness. ⋯ A seven-item patient-centric PRO instrument was able to separate advanced malignancy patients into cohorts who their physicians deemed were at differing stages in their cancer journey with increasing needs for advance care planning. A study to determine if the threshold scores identified in this pilot correlate with palliative/EOL consultation frequency and patient survival is underway.