Terminal patients did not understand their palliative care

A national study of terminal lung cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy as their palliative care shows nearly two-thirds thought such care would cure them, according to new findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“Radiation therapy can be used to relieve symptoms caused by metastatic lung cancer, such as pain from bony metastases, shortness of breath from lung tumors, or neurologic symptoms, such as weakness, from brain metastases,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Aileen Chen of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told Reuters Health. Because patients with metastatic lung cancer tend to live less than a year and the radiation treatments they endure serve only to improve quality of life, the findings surprised her.

Between 2003 and 2005, more than 350 individuals undergoing radiation therapy answered questions about their treatments and expectations. Almost 80 percent believed the radiation therapy was very or somewhat likely to help them live longer; almost 70 percent believed the therapy was very or somewhat likely to help with cancer-related problems. Most surprising, more than 60 percent did not understand their palliative care therapy was not at all likely to cure them.

Palliative medicine is provided to the terminally and seriously ill to help treat symptoms and side-effects of disease and aggressive treatments. The goal of palliative care is not cure, but symptom management.

There was no difference in overall survival between patients who expected to be cured and those who did not, according to Reuters‘ Kathryn Doyle. Less than 40 percent replied that the radiation was “not at all likely” to cure them.

The researchers suggest more frequent and accurate communication between patients and their physicians about palliative care, so the most vulnerable better understand their state and have time to prepare. Older and non-white patients were more likely to have these inaccurate beliefs, according to the study. About 90 percent of patients with these inaccurate beliefs had them about chemotherapy as well.