Palliative care for elderly patients with advanced cancer: a long-term intervention for end-of-life care.

OBJECTIVE

This essay identifies elderly cancer patients as a population that experiences cancer-related health disparities at the end-of-life.

METHODS

While hospice and palliative care (PC) are care options for this population, it is argued that PC prior to hospice will yield numerous benefits for long-term end-of-life care.

RESULTS

It is theorized that PC prior to hospice will be beneficial in meeting the family's needs in a timely and adequate manner, improving quality of life, increasing caregiver satisfaction and communication, possibly delay institutionalization of the patient, and may ultimately impact bereavement.

CONCLUSION

Patients would be able to benefit from PC in an early stage of their disease, positively influencing older cancer patients and families.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Long-term assessment of the impact of PC prior to hospice is proposed as a promising direction of future research.