The Need for Palliative Care in the U.S.

Up to ninety percent of cancer patients, according to All Things Considered of November 27, 1997, suffer through severe pain during the last three weeks of life. There is a little known branch of medicine called palliative care, which cares for the terminally ill. Doctors use means such as pain medication to care for individuals rather than trying to cure their disease. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization stated that over 300,000 people died in organizations affiliated with them in 1998. Over 300,000 people are a small fraction compared to millions of terminally ill patients who die in hospitals and nursing home every year. This research paper will examine the state of palliative care in the United States and make the argument that doctors need to use palliative care for terminal patients