Results
The final sample population of 303 beneficiaries received palliative radiation treatment in 2014 to bone metastases. Of those 303 beneficiaries, 24 beneficiaries (7.92%) had single-fraction treatments and 279 beneficiaries (92.1%) had multi-fraction treatments. The majority were 65-75 years of age (n=129; 42.6%) and 76-85 years of age (n=106; 35%). The mean age was 73.3 years, and the majority were Caucasian (n=276; 91.1%). The majority of all radiation treatments are in the Southeast (n=123; 40.6%) and gender was mostly balanced, with slightly more males than females. Overall, in our study the most common type of primary cancer to receive radiation for bone metastases are those with a primary diagnosis of lung cancer. Table 1 titled Demographic and Primary Malignancy Characteristics, provides a summary of the demographics.
Of the 25 beneficiaries that received a single-fraction course of treatment, the most common site of primary diagnosis was lung (n=10; 55.6%), prostate (n=3; 16.7%) and kidney (n=2; 11.1%). The mean age was 74.5 years and gender was proportionate. The majority of patients were from the southeast region (n=12; 50%) of the US. Most beneficiaries were in the age group 76-85 (n=12; 50%), followed by 65-75 year olds (n =8; 33.3%).
Of the 278 beneficiaries that received multi-fraction course of treatment, the most common primary diagnosis was lung (n=57; 24.3%), prostate (n=52; 22.1%) and breast (n=48; 20.4%). The mean age was 73.6 years of age and
It still consists of asthma type medications, oxygen, augmentation therapy, and lung and liver transplants. They have more clinical trials to try out more medications on the market to see if any of them may be helpful. So far the best treatment seems to be the lung transplant, but again, you have to be sick enough to receive it but healthy enough to live life afterwards. Both my mother and uncles Alpha One were so progressive and severe, a lung transplant was out of the question. I could not imagine the pain they went through daily plus knowing that your life would be cut short would be almost unbearable.
Cancer is an incurable and unpredictable disease that, if left untreated, will likely result in death for the men, women, and children who must fight it. Sadly, approximately 36% of people will develop cancer during their lifetime, and of that percentage, fewer than 15% will survive, according to the National Cancer Institute. Along with surgery and chemotherapy, radiation is one of the few known methods for treating cancer, but it does not come without harmful side effects. While radiation therapy is currently a proven method for treating cancer, dangers to patients often outweigh its benefits, therefore a safer method for effectively treating and ultimately curing cancer.
"You have stage IV lung cancer that has metastasized to your lymph nodes and bones. Your prognosis is poor; you may have another 18 months left [to live]." The oncologist’s words marked the beginning of my ex-husband’s physical and emotional suffering until his untimely death in January 2017. Witnessing his unrelenting pain and watching him suffer from lung cancer and the horrible side effects of chemotherapy, I wondered why the doctors did not offer him any other alternatives other than living in progressive pain. Why would they let him suffer for the next 18 months with ineffective pain management treatment when his prognosis was so poor? This option should have been available to him, but due to state laws and
This review of available literature will evaluate the two main forms of treatment as well as risk factors and typical barriers to care and innovations in the field of care.
What treatment options should be discussed with the patient? Provide a rationale for each potential treatment and how each is thought to impact the disease processes.
Each patient was subjected to four assessments. Assessment s were given at the screening, at baseline after randomization at the end of the 12 weeks treatment and size months after the end of therapy in order to evaluate the long-term effects of the treatment. Patients in the wait-list group were offered one additional assessment at the end of the 12-week waiting period. The patients were assessed by independent and trained clinicians who that had no knowledge to the treatment conditions, and who was not involved in direct clinical care of any of the
82 developed an index defined as GAP (gender, age, physiology), in order to predict mortality in IPF. US and Italian patients included in this study were divided in three groups: 228 patients, 44.3% of which with biopsy proven IPF, were included in the derivation cohort and 555, 54.7% of which with biopsy, in two validation cohorts of 330 and 325 patients. Mean follow-up was 1.7 and 2.4 in the derivation and the validation cohorts, respectively. The primary endpoint of the study was time to death or lung transplantation. Overall mortality was 49% in the derivation cohort and 62% in the validation cohorts. A competing-risk regression model was used to screen potential predictors of mortality in the derivation cohort including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, supplemental oxygen use, FVC, FEV1, TLC and DLCO. Age, sex, FVC% predicted and DLCO% predicted were identified as independent predictors and were used to develop the GAP individual risk calculator towards mortality and staging system. Three stages (stages I, II, and III) were identified based on the GAP index with 1-year mortality of 6%,16%, and 39%,
In clinical practice today the population is increasing in the number of elderly patients, as is the occurrence of breast cancer in women 60 years of age and older. According to Tang et al. (2011) the occurrence of breast cancer in women 65 years old and older is greater than “400 cases per 100, 000 women” (p. 3). The appropriate treatment options for the elderly are not as standard as those for a younger generation related to the effects the aging process has on the body. Secondary conditions such as congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes mellitus (DM), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and the effects of treatment on functionality are also considered when
As a result, the amount of money that gets propelled back into the healthcare industry skyrockets as the list of medical issues following these treatments grows more and more extensive. A study done by Dr. John Diamond shows that females who undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments “face a 35% chance of developing breast cancer by the time they are 40, which is 75 times greater than average” (Dr. John Diamond, MD). Chemotherapy and radiation have been proven to weaken, and sometimes completely destroy, the immune system. This makes the already physically unstable patient even more susceptible to illnesses and diseases that they wouldn 't otherwise have had to worry about. Consequently, the recurrence of cancer is a very likely, and in some cases, unavoidable. But it is unacceptable that the most common and easily accessible drug is the reason why 35% of patients will develop a second cancer (haematologica.org). Many other cancers can come as a result of chemotherapy too. One study found that, "Patients who underwent chemo were 14 times more likely to develop leukemia and 6 times more likely to develop cancers of the bones, joints, and soft tissues than those patients who did not undergo
Radiation therapy is the ionization of atoms in tissues resulting in formation of highly reactive radicals in a well-defined, restricted volume (1). In other words, ionizing radiations are used to eradicate tumors and at the same time preserve structure and function of normal tissue. A limitation is prevented from being a problem. If bone marrow or neuronal cells are destroyed or injured, they do not regenerate. However, with radiation therapy, these cells are often saved from injury or destruction, unless the tumor is infecting bone marrow or neuronal cells. Today, radiation therapy is the most popular type of cancer therapy in use. It is used to treat one-half to two-thirds of all cancers, which translates to more than ten percent of the population
A: Janie is a 60 year old Female with PMH of A-Fib, COPD, Hypothyroidism, HTN, Lung Cancer and recently diagnosed Pulmonary Embolism. Janie presents to ER for evaluation on SOB, cough with greenish sputum, sore thoart, hoarseness and generalized weakness. Janie lives at home with her husband, use to smoke ½ pack per week, but quit many years ago, denies alcohol or drugs. Family history is non-contributory. Allergies: NKDA. Differential diagnosis includes worsening Lung Ca, PE, COPD and CHF. Janie uses home O2 at 4 L/NC. V/S: T=98.7, HR=89, R=16, B/P=132/56, O2 sats=100% on 4L/NC, Pain=6/10. Labs: WBC=7.6, H&H=8.5/27, Na=141, Troponin=0.08/0.06, BNP=495, INR=4.2, UA=3+ protein, 1+ blood and 6-10 RBC. CXR: Impression:1). COPD with nonspecific coarsening of the basilar interstitium. 2). Mild cardiomegaly with borderline cardiac compensation. 3). Right
You suspect that your patient may have lung cancer (provide a minimum of 1 reference)? (5 marks)
Several methods such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have been used to treat cancers. The cancer patients who are not helped
In 2007, it is predicted that almost 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States (Pickle et al., 2007). More than half of these cancer patients will undergo the use of radiation as a means for treating cancer at some point during the course of their disease (Perez and Brady, 1998). Cancer, a disease caused by an uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells, affects millions of people around the world. Radiotherapy is one of the well known various methods used to treat cancer, where high powered rays are aimed directly at the tumor from the outside of the body as external radiation or an instrument is surgically placed inside the body producing a result of internal radiation. Radiation is delivered to the cancerous regions of the body to damage and destroy the cells in that area, terminating the rapid growth and division of the cells. Radiation therapy has been used by medicine as a treatment for cancer from the beginning of the twentieth century, with its earliest beginnings coming from the discovery of x-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen. With the advancements in physics and computer programming, radiation had greatly evolved towards the end of the twentieth century and made the radiation treatment more effective. Radiation therapy is a curative treatment approach for cancer because it is successful in killing cancerous tumor cells and stop them from regenerating.
2. Carr, D. B., Fischer, D. S. & Markman, M. (1994). Cancer: when to focus on palliation. Patient Care, 28, (3), 123–126.