Cancer
-
Fifteen patients with chronic malignant intractable pain were given epidural narcotics for periods of up to 280 days. The majority were treated at home. The patients self-administered the narcotics through an indwelling epidural catheter that had been tunneled and brought out onto the anterior abdominal wall. The results are presented together with the problems encountered.
-
A supportive family environment is thought to enhance the capacity of cancer patients to adapt to their illness and treatment. But families, like patients, vary in their ability to cope with the impact of a cancer diagnosis in a family member and in their ability to fulfill the patient's needs. Increased understanding of the interrelationships between the family's and patient's responses to illness is of fundamental importance to the care of the patient with cancer. ⋯ These data suggest a mutuality of psychological response between patients and their families. Supportive intervention for the patient or relative who manifests distress, therefore, should benefit both. Because patients and relatives involved with palliative treatment are most in need of psychological assistance, particular attention should be paid to this group, as is attempted in hospice care.