Focusing On Patients

Comfort Always
(continued)

Meyers’ first study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leader in efforts to improve medical care at the end of life. Only four cancer centers nationwide received grants through the foundation’s “Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care” program. Along with UC Davis, grant recipients were the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and the Ireland Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Meyers’ first study lasted seven months. It compared two groups of patients with advanced cancer. All had a prognosis of less than one year to live and were enrolled in clinical trials of investigational cancer drugs. Half the patients received no special added support during their treatment; the other half received simul- taneous palliative care focusing on symptom management, emotional support and discussion of end-of-life issues. In the simultaneous care group, a nurse and social worker made regular home visits and accompanied patients to their clinic appointments.

At study’s end, the simultaneous care and usual-care patients were just as likely to have completed their clinical trials and to have finished all their chemotherapy cycles. However, the cancer patients who received simultaneous care reported their quality of life improved during the study. Those who received no supportive care reported a diminished quality of life.