Objective: We sought to describe palliative care services available to children with cancer along with pediatric oncologists' current and ideal practices of palliative care involvement in children with cancer. Design(s): A novel survey tool was…
CONTEXT: Methadone is a long-acting opioid known for its unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Most research on methadone in children is limited to its effect on the prolongation of the corrected QT (QTc) interval. OBJECTIVES: To…
AIM: To assess patients' barriers to pain management and analgesic medication adherence in advanced cancer patients METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study in advanced cancer patients receiving chronic opioid therapy. Age, gender, cancer…
Although many of the 16,000 children in the United States diagnosed who are with cancer each year could benefit from pediatric palliative care, these services remain underused. Evidence regarding the barriers impeding access to comprehensive…
BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs; aged 15-39 years) with cancer frequently receive intensive measures at the end of life (EoL), but the perspectives of AYAs and their family members on barriers to optimal EoL care are not well…
Introduction: For children with cancer, early integration of pediatric palliative care in conjunction with curative treatments is recommended. In Switzerland, pediatric palliative care is mostly provided by an interdisciplinary primary oncology team…
Background: Integrated pediatric palliative oncology (PPO) outpatient models are emerging to assist oncologists, children, and families throughout their course with cancer. Significant time is devoted to care coordination ("nonbillable"time), but the…
Purpose: High-quality communication is a standard of palliative care for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Yet, few studies have characterized the negative communication experiences of AYAs near the end of life (EOL). Method(s): We…
BACKGROUND: Professional education pertaining to end-of-life care with pediatric oncology patients is limited. Pediatric trainees learn about end-of-life conversations largely from the provider's perspective. Bereaved parents can inform the education…
Broaching conversations about goals of care can be difficult for clinicians. Presently, the communication strategies used by pediatric oncologists to approach goals of care conversations are not well understood. We recorded disease re-evaluation…
Lived experiences of childhood cancer patients and their families have been described as interrupted and as a loss of normal life. Apart from symptoms due to the cancer disease, families continuously experience burden of treatment. Since coping…
As a result of oncology research and technology, great improvements in cancer treatment and survival have occurred in the past 2 decades. However, adolescents and young adults (AYAs) who received a diagnosis of cancer have not witnessed the same…
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to explore bereaved siblings' positive and negative memories and experiences of their brother's or sister's illness and death. METHOD: In our nationwide Swedish study, 174 of 240 (73%) bereaved siblings participated, and 70%…
Background/Objectives: Bereaved parents during palliative care affects the quality of life of children and family. This research aims to explore parents' experiences caring children with cancer in palliative condition. Design/Methods: The research…
BACKGROUND: The quality of palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer remains largely unknown. OBJECTIVE(S): To describe caregivers of AYA cancer decedents perspectives' on EOL care quality related to…
Objectives: Pediatric leukemia is the most common cancer among children younger than 14 years of age. Children with leukemia require palliative care as additional support from the health care team. Providing palliative care to children is…
Background: Limited research has examined the impact of a child's death from cancer on siblings. Even less is known about how these siblings change over time. Objective: This study compared changes in siblings 1 (T1) and 2 (T2) years after the death…
Limited research is available on parental decision-making regarding their children's participation in pediatric phase I oncology trials compared with the adult population. The objectives of this review were to describe: (1) the process of parental…
Background: Parents of children with cancer admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) often obtain support from social workers and/or chaplains (SWs/Cs). Yet, empirical work describing the roles and activities of SWs/Cs caring for patients…
OBJECTIVE: Previous work in pediatric oncology has found that clinicians and parents tend to under-report the frequency and severity of treatment-related symptoms compared to child self-report. As such, there is a need to identify high-quality…
Despite improvements in survival, cancer remains the leading cause of non-accidental death in children and adolescents, who risk receiving high-intensity end-of-life (HI-EOL) care. OBJECTIVE: To analyse treatments for relapses (particularly in the…
The concept of quality of life (QoL) is used in consultations to plan the care and treatment of children and young people (CYP) with brain tumors (BTs). The way in which CYP, their parents, and their health care professionals (HCP) each understand…
Background and purpose: This study describes clinical outcomes of palliative radiation therapy (RT)for children treated in distinct health-care environments-the US where there is advanced integration of palliative resources and Brazil, a country in…
Introduction: Effective communication in pediatric palliative cancer care is an important aspect of practice to enhance patient- and family-centered care, and to optimize decision-making. However, little is known about communication preferences…
BACKGROUND: In medical oncology, palliative care principles and advance care planning are often discussed later in illness, limiting time for conversations to guide goal-concordant care. In pediatric oncology, the frequency, timing and content of…
CONTEXT: The families of oncology patients requiring intensive care often face increasing complexity in communication with their providers, particularly when patients are cared for by providers from different disciplines. OBJECTIVE: To describe…
BACKGROUND: When children are seriously ill, parents rely on communication with their clinicians. However, in previous research, researchers have not defined how this communication should function in pediatric oncology. We aimed to identify these…
PURPOSE: This report represents a subanalysis of data from a primary study and addresses a gap in understanding the similarities and differences of symptom reporting between children with advanced cancer and their parents. The objectives of this…
CONTEXT: Approximately 40%-60% of deaths in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are in the context of de-escalation of life-sustaining treatments (LSTs), including compassionate extubation, withdrawal of vasopressors, or other LSTs. Suffering at…
Importance: Lack of pediatric advance care planning has been associated with poor communication, increased hospitalization, poor quality of life, and legal actions. Clinicians presume that families understand adolescents' treatment preferences for…
Introduction: Palliative care is a critical component of pediatric oncology care. Embedded pediatric palliative care (PPC) is relatively new in pediatric hematology/oncology (PHO) and may improve access, utilization, and quality of PPC. In June 2020,…
Background/objectives: Ethical challenges in pediatric oncology arise at every stage of illness. However, there are sparse data on the content of and reason for ethics consultations in the field. We sought to evaluate the content and characteristics…
Continuous deep sedation (CDS) is used to alleviate unbearable and otherwise refractory symptoms in patients dying of cancer. No data are available concerning CDS in children from Japan to date. This study primarily aimed to describe experience in…
Background/Objectives: Discussing end-of-life (EoL) care is very challenging for adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with cancer. While many helpful documents exist to facilitate EoL conversations with adults, few resources exist to aid AYA in…
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on cultural factors influencing clinical care and family management of pediatric cancer. METHODS: A literature review including 72 articles related to cultural issues in pediatric cancer was conducted. Information…
BACKGROUND: Adult patients with hematologic malignancies are less likely to receive palliative care and more likely to accept intensive anti-cancer treatments until end-of-life than those with solid tumors, but limited data are available regarding…
