Valley of Life | Online Memorial Blog

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.

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A study released by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the Archives of Internal Medicine have concluded that regardless of mental or physical health, most senior citizens do not change their minds on how they would like their end-of-life care to be handled as they get older.

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Researchers in Boston have concluded that having discussions about end of life care with your doctor not only benefits the health of the dying but also helps the loved one during the grieving process.  The researchers found that of the 332 people that tracked who had advanced, incurable cancer, only about 1/3 of them ever talked about their end-of-life care options with their doctors.  Per Joe Rojas-Burke who blogged on this subject, “The discussions did not trigger depression or worry.  On the contrary, the patients received earlier hospice care, reported less suffering during their final weeks and underwent fewer invasive treatments near death than patients whose doctors avoided such discussions.”  The results of these findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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