Trends and racial disparities in aggressive end of life care for a national sample of women with ovarian cancer
End of life care for patients with cancer should be better. Hospice and Palliative care are now standard for patients who have entered the terminal stages of their disease. However, it seems that certain demographic groups do not receive appropriate treatment enabling death with dignity.
This retrospective study looked at almost 8000 women who died from ovarian cancer during the period 2007 to 2016. Several indicators of sub-standard care were selected; late admission or no admission to palliative care, attendance at emergency departments, and futile chemotherapy or invasive procedures administered during the last 14 days of life.
Findings from the study showed disparity between the care provided for wealthy white women of higher socio-economic status who were less likely to experience sub-standard care than non-whites or the poor. Obviously those responsible for clinical care of disadvantaged ovarian cancer patients need to be mindful of this.
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