End-of-Life Care More Aggressive For the Faithful
A Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Boston research study has found that cancer patients who lean on their religious faith to cope with their illness were 3x more likely to receive aggressive life-prolonging treatment than those not relying on their beliefs. They were also less likely to have made end-of-life preparations like creating a living will or determining a health-care proxy. They also were less likely to have a do not resuscitate order in place.
Though many conclusions can be made on the research, the clearest is that physicians must try to assess a patient’s motivation for making some of their end-of-life decisions or NOT making those decisions and help them as best they can to ensure that they receive the kind of care they truly want and need.
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Tags: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Boston, end-of-life care
