Perception of oncology patients on the terminality of life

Abstract With the aim of analysing the perception of cancer patients towards the end of life, a questionnaire was applied to 100 oncologic patients, of which 85% were unaware of living will/advance directives, 81% were unaware of the terms palliative care and 70% were unaware of order to not reanimate. After clarifying the meaning of the terms used, 62% agreed to make living will/advance directives, 82% to receive palliative care at home and 64% to be reanimated in any situation, but the majority (73%) disagreed with the practice of futility. Only 11% reported inadequacies in the communication of their diagnosis by the physician. The fact of having metastases elicited a broader reflection on the termination of life. The results allow to infer that it is necessary to encourage the discussion about termination of life to the population during patient care, as well to promote the respective training to health professionals since the undergraduate course.

摘要：为分析癌症患者对临终议题的认知，研究团队向100名肿瘤患者发放了调查问卷。结果显示，85%的受试者未知晓生前预嘱（living will/advance directives），81%不了解安宁疗护（palliative care）相关概念，70%不清楚不复苏医嘱（order to not reanimate）。在对上述术语的含义进行澄清后，62%的受试者同意签署生前预嘱，82%愿意接受居家安宁疗护，64%同意在任何场景下接受心肺复苏，但多数（73%）反对无益医疗干预。仅11%的受试者表示，医师在告知其诊断时存在沟通不足。存在远处转移的患者对临终议题的思考更为深入。研究结果表明，在患者护理过程中，需鼓励民众开展临终议题讨论，同时应从本科教育阶段起，对医疗卫生专业人员开展相关培训。