Lung cancer patients receiving palliative care had improved quality of life, extended survival
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 16:07
in Health & Medicine
Integrating palliative care early in the treatment of patients with advanced lung cancer not only improved their mood and quality of life, it also extended their lives. In the August 19 New England Journal of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report that patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received early palliative care along with standard treatment lived more than two months longer than patients receiving standard care only. Metastatic NSCLC is difficult to treat, and patients typically are expected to survive less than one year.