Articles: palliative-care.
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Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Americans. The World Health Organization has mandated an integrated approach to palliative care in the treatment of patients with cancer. However, medical decision making in the setting of life-threatening disease remains complicated. ⋯ If fully implemented, the integrated palliative care approach will result in quaternary prevention, ie, the prevention of suffering.
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Understanding why some terminally ill patients desire a hastened death has become an important issue in palliative care and the debate regarding legalization of assisted suicide. ⋯ Desire for hastened death among terminally ill cancer patients is not uncommon. Depression and hopelessness are the strongest predictors of desire for hastened death in this population and provide independent and unique contributions. Interventions addressing depression, hopelessness, and social support appear to be important aspects of adequate palliative care, particularly as it relates to desire for hastened death.