Cancer Care
Study shows value of quality-of-life cancer care By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer Palliative care, which helps the gravely ill make the most of the time they have left, provided a surprising bonus for terminal lung cancer patients: More time left to enjoy. A study found that patients who started soon after their diagnosis on palliative care along with usual cancer care lived nearly three months longer than people given only standard cancer care, even though this second group had more chemotherapy. That's a big difference. Patients like this typically live less than a year after diagnosis, said study leader Dr. Jennifer Temel, a cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where the study was done. The results, in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, could affect the care of a lot of people: More than half of lung cancer patients have incurable disease by the time they are diagnosed. Palliative care involves doctors, nurses, social workers, nutr...