title: Overcoming the challenges associated with symptom management in palliative care.
abstract: End of life (EOL) care is a topic that many families have difficulty discussing. A number of families are uncomfortable with accepting the fact that death is a part of every human's reality. Ideas and thoughts of death are interpreted differently across various cultures, and lacking to discuss disease trajectory and what to expect down the road with a physician, brings forward conflict during EOL care. Let us consider the complexities of treating Mr. X who is an 80-year-old male of Italian background with a history of advanced lung cancer with metastasis to the brain. He was recently diagnosed and his health began to rapidly decline at home. Mr. X is used in this case study to explore the challenges in providing care in a palliative care unit (PCU), and the ways in which we can overcome them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. hsenderovich@baycrest.org.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Senderovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Shaira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wignarajah
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010166:Palliative Care
keywords: Palliative; communication; end of life (EOL); symptom management