Byock I
Practical Ethics Center, University of Montana, Missoula, USA.
CA Cancer J Clin. 2000 Mar-Apr;50(2):123-32. doi: 10.3322/canjclin.50.2.123.
Cancer care extends from diagnosis through the late stages of advanced illness as patients confront dying and their families cope with caregiving and grief. Palliative care is a rapidly developing area of clinical focus that offers valuable services to patients in terms of symptom management and adjustment to illness, including issues of life completion and life closure. It is often appropriate to offer certain elements of palliative care early in the course of illness. As disease progresses, physical comfort and enhancing quality of life increasingly become primary goals of cancer care. Specialized palliative care programs, epitomized by hospice, are invaluable resources for patients with far-advanced illness and their families. Current regulations and prevailing payment structures limit access to and the scope of hospice services and highlight the need for innovative models of delivering and financing palliative care.
癌症护理贯穿于从诊断到晚期重病阶段，在此过程中患者面临死亡，其家人则应对护理工作并承受悲痛。姑息治疗是临床关注中一个迅速发展的领域，在症状管理和适应疾病方面为患者提供宝贵服务，包括生命完成和生命终结等问题。在疾病进程早期提供某些姑息治疗要素通常是合适的。随着疾病进展，身体舒适和提高生活质量日益成为癌症护理的主要目标。以临终关怀为代表的专业姑息治疗项目，对于身患重病的患者及其家人而言是极其宝贵的资源。当前的法规和现行支付结构限制了临终关怀服务的可及性和范围，凸显了提供和资助姑息治疗创新模式的必要性。
