As Terminal Patients Live Longer, How Can Oncologists Help Them Cope With Uncertainty?
About this episode
The episode discusses how oncologists can help terminal patients cope with uncertainty as they live longer without a cure.
Progress in cancer care means that millions of patients are living longer lives, albeit without hope of a cure. What role can oncologists and other physicians play in helping to navigate these uncertain futures? “What is our obligation to them? How do we understand them and their needs and respond to them?” asks Sunita Puri, MD, author of That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour and associate professor of medicine and director of the inpatient palliative care service at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine. She discusses how she uses “radical honesty” with Robert A. Figlin, MD, the interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center in Los Angeles and Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Puri explains how she admits her own limitations when helping patients who are grappling with questions about what treatments mean for quality vs quantity of life. “I want to be a resource to you, but I also want you to know I share in your uncertainty because I’m not sure what’s going to happen next.” Dr. Puri reported no relevant financial relationships. Dr. Figlin reported various financial relationships.
People in this episode
Host: Robert A. Figlin, MD
Guest: Sunita Puri, MD
Topics covered
- palliative care
- oncology
- patient coping
- uncertainty in treatment
- quality of life
- cancer care
Keywords
- oncology
- palliative care
- terminal patients
- uncertainty
- cancer treatment
- quality of life
- radical honesty
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center
Books & works: That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour
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