Problems of terminal head and neck cancer patients.

In recent years, there has been increased interest in defining what constitutes good quality of care for the terminal cancer patient. Progress in this area depends upon adequate knowledge of the problems in the terminal period for patients with cancer in specific sites. The present study is a survey of the final period of life in 60 head and neck cancer patients. The average survival time from diagnosis to death was 17.2 months. The mean time of hospitalization was 4 months. Pain was a problem in 85% of the patients, with feeding problems in 62% and respiratory difficulties in 43%. Eighty-six percent of the patients died in a hospital setting, with the average duration of the final hospitalization being 68 days. Our analysis documents the complex problems in the terminal phase of a head and neck cancer patient's life. These problems challenge medical facilities caring for such patients to develop programs that will provide the best possible levels of care for head and neck cancer patients and to develop approaches that will reduce the suffering experienced by the patient's family.