End-stage cancer patients rather pay to die at home: Study

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TODAY reports: Patients with end-stage cancer are more willing to fork out money so that they can die at home or avoid severe pain, as compared to paying to extend their life by one year, a study has found.

SINGAPORE: Patients with end-stage cancer are more willing to fork out money so that they can die at home or avoid severe pain, as compared to paying to extend their life by one year, a study has found.

The findings suggest that health insurers and doctors may be putting too much emphasis on life-extending treatments for these patients, said Professor Eric Finkelstein, Director of Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC), which together with the National Cancer Centre Singapore surveyed 211 patients and their caregivers.

The patients participating in the poll were asked to rate their preferred end-of-life scenario comprising various factors. These include how many years of life they have remaining, the degree of pain they experience, where they die, the level of burden on their caregivers, the quality of the healthcare experience, the cost of treatment, and how they pay for these bills.

Using the results, the researchers quantified patients’ willingness to pay to improve their end-of-life experience. Patients’ willingness to pay to extend their life by one year was valued at S$18,570, lower than what they would pay to avoid severe pain (S$22,199) or to die at home (S$31,256).

In contrast, caregivers of these cancer patients were three times more willing to pay to extend life by one year.

Assistant Professor Chetna Malhotra, who is also from LCPC, said that the differences in patients’ and caregivers’ willingness to pay suggest the need for asking patients about their preferences directly when making decisions on treatment, as opposed to relying on caregivers’ inputs.

“We hope this research helps foster greater communication between patients, caregivers, and doctors,” he said.

-TODAY/ac


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