According to a new study, Canadian oncologists are referring patients too late to specialized palliative care services. While 80% of doctors refer terminally ill cancer patients to palliative care, most patients are referred in the last few months or weeks of life, and many are only referred in the last days. “What we really need is a rebranding of palliative care,” says Dr Camilla Zimmermann, who led the study and is Head of Palliative Care at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Read more here.
Study mentioned: Wentlandt K, et al. Referral Practices of Oncologists to Specialized Palliative Care. J Clin Oncol. 2012 Oct 29. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23109708
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