scholarly journals Relations between Desire for Early Death, Depressive Symptoms and Antidepressant Prescribing in Terminally Ill Patients with Cancer

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 386-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Tiernan ◽  
P Casey ◽  
C O'Boyle ◽  
G Birkbeck ◽  
M Mangan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Treatment Of Depression

Some patients with advanced cancer express the wish for an early death. This may be associated with depression. We examined the relations between depressive symptoms and desire for early death (natural or by euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide) in 142 terminally ill patients with cancer being cared for by a specialist palliative care team. They completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire and answered four supplementary questions on desire for early death. Only 2 patients expressed a strong wish for death by some form of suicide or euthanasia. 120 denied that they ever wished for early release. The desire for early death correlated with depression scores. Depressive symptoms were common in the whole group but few were on antidepressant therapy. Better recognition and treatment of depression might improve the lives of people with terminal illness and so lessen desire for early death, whether natural or by suicide.

Attitudes and Desires of Terminally Ill Patients Regarding Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (DRAFT)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Jung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Severe Pain ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Over Time

No studies have explicitly addressed the attitudes and desires of terminally ill patients on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). In this prospective cohort study, 988 terminally ill patients and 893 caregivers were surveyed. A total of 60.2% patients supported euthanasia or PAS in a standard poll question, but only 10.6% seriously considered these interventions for themselves. Patients with depressive symptoms, moderate to severe pain, and significant care needs were more likely to consider euthanasia and PAS. Half of the patients who initially considered euthanasia or PAS changed their minds at the follow-up interview, and an almost equal number newly considered these interventions. Patients with depressive symptoms and dyspnea were more likely to change their minds over time. According to the caregivers of 256 deceased patients, 5.6% of patients discussed euthanasia or PAS in the last month of life, 2.5% hoarded drugs for suicide, and 0.4% died by PAS.

Spirituality and Awareness of Diagnoses in Terminally Ill Patients With Cancer

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Lai ◽  
Massimiliano Luciani ◽  
Federico Galli ◽  
Emanuela Morelli ◽  
Francesca Del Prete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Psychological Outcome ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Aware Group ◽  
Illness Condition

Objective: Aims of the present study were to investigate the association between awareness of own illness condition and psychological outcome in end-of-life phase and to test the association between the spirituality and the awareness of own illness condition. Methods: Three hundred and ninety-nine terminally ill patients with cancer were enrolled in a hospice in central Italy. One hundred patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. The Systems of Belief Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and a psychological interview to determine the level of awareness of the illness diagnosis (aware; partially aware; and not aware) were administered to terminally ill patients. Results: The main finding was that the awareness of one’s own illness condition was positively associated with the extrinsic spirituality and negatively associated with intrinsic spirituality (regression model R = .26; R2 = .07; adjusted R2 = .05; F2, 97 = 3.45; P = .036). The aware group showed lower anxiety and depression ( F2, 97 = 1.9; P = . 075; F2, 97 = 2.6; P = .04) scores than partially aware and not aware groups. The psychological outcome was not associated with the spirituality level. Conclusion: In terminally ill patients with cancer, the levels of depression and anxiety were lower in patients aware of their own illness state. Moreover, higher levels of extrinsic and lower levels of intrinsic spirituality predicted the awareness of one’s own illness state.

Relatives' Perspective on the Terminally Ill Patients Who Died after Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Interview Study in the Netherlands

Death Studies ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Jacques Georges ◽  
Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen ◽  
Martien T. Muller ◽  
Gerrit van der Wal ◽  
Agnes van der Heide ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients

scholarly journals Attitudes of Terminally Ill Patients Toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide

2000 ◽  
Vol 160 (16) ◽  
pp. 2454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith G. Wilson ◽  
John F. Scott ◽  
Ian D. Graham ◽  
Jean F. Kozak ◽  
Susan Chater ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients

Right to Try and Physician Assisted Suicide: Similar or Different?

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 122-122
Author(s):  
Andrea Martani ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Conflicting Interests ◽  
Life Circumstances ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
The Right

"In the last few years, the debate whether terminally ill patients should have access to experimental treatments without governmental supervision has intensified. The so-called “Right-to-Try” (RTT) doctrine has become popular especially in the United States, where the federal parliament passed a bill allowing such practices. As many other policies concerning patients’ autonomy in end-of-life circumstances, the appropriateness of RTT has often been challenged. In this context, some authors recently put forward the argument that states where it is allowed to request physician assisted suicide (PAS) should also necessarily recognize a RTT. In the authors’ own words: “if states can give a terminally ill patient the right to die using medications with 100% probability of being unsafe and ineffective against his/her disease [i.e. the substances used for PAS], they should also be able to grant terminally ill patients a right to try medications with less than 100% probability of being unsafe and ineffective [i.e. ET]”. In this contribution, I will question this argument by underlying three flaws in the authors’ comparison of RTT and PAS. First, there is a fundamental distinction in the nature of the choices between the two situations concerning the (un)certainty of their outcomes. Second, the number of actors (and their potential conflicting interests) involved in these two situations is different. Third, the authors’ understanding of the object of patients’ rights in PAS is partially incorrect. I will conclude by arguing that, although reasons might exist to support RTT, such comparison with PAS is not one of them. "

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