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Filed under: In The News
There may be no greater pain than watching your child struggle with an agonizing, terminal illness. And that's why some parents of dying children may consider asking their doctors to hasten the end of their child's life.
According to Time magazine, a new study out of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston reveals that of 141 parents whose children died from pediatric cancer, 34 percent of parents said that in hindsight, they would have contemplated hastening the end of their child's life. However, only 13 parents admitted to having the conversation with a physician.
The results are an indication that caregivers and parents are at a loss when it comes to developing a palliative care plan for children who suffer from terminal illnesses. Parents are naturally inclined to believe their kids still have a chance to fight their diseases, and many childhood cancers still have an uncertain prognosis. Those two factors can combine to create an environment in which end-of-life care is delayed.
A 2008 study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, Children's Hospital states that many are hesitant to have these hard conversations, Time reports. "An uncertain prognosis should be a signal to initiate, rather than to delay, palliative care," the magazine reports. "... Many dying children still do not receive palliative care and may suffer needlessly."
The research out of Dana-Farber, while conducted among a small sample of parents, is still ground-breaking. The parents were asked to respond to two hypothetical situations: one in which a child suffered uncontrollable pain at the end of life, and one in which the child was in an irreversible coma. In both scenarios, parents were more likely to endorse hastening death as the child's pain increased, Time reports.
"The fear of pain is the critical factor for parents with regard to hastening death," Dr. Joanna Wolfe, one of the study's authors and the director of pediatric palliative care at Dana-Farber and Children's Hospital Boston, tells the magazine.
"Parents who identified as more religious were less likely to admit they had such thoughts [of hastening death]," Veronica Dussel, a Dana-Farber research fellow and lead author of the study, tells Time. "Parents with higher incomes were more likely to say they had."
One key finding of the research is that parents are about as likely to consider euthanasia for their children as are family members of adult patients. The difference, researchers say, is that parents want to preserve every waking moment with their dying children and therefore are less likely to endorse end-of-life care that includes heavy sedation and the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments.
However, researchers note that in this particular study, parents said they would consider such treatments in an effort to end their child's pain. Wolfe is quick to point out that discussing such options does not mean the child is certain to perish.
"Caregivers must create opportunities for parents to discuss their hopes but also their worries and fears about losing a child," she says. "For all involved, the healthiest long-term path is, let's hope for the best but plan for the worst."
Related: Palliative Care
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-07-2010 @ 11:19PM
Michele W said...I dont think there is anything wrong with helping your loved ones die in peace. If you have a dog or animal that is suffering the first thing the vet says is put them to sleep. We wont let our pets suffer so why should our children or loved ones suffer. Even as for old people who dont know who they are, dont know who their family is, cant get out of bed and are vegetables, why let them live? Let them die in peace and with dignity. It is really common sense that you would rather have them die peacfully then suffer with pain.
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