What do family caregivers want? What do they need? Education and training. Respite care. And, most important, peer support. Those are the conclusions of the HSC Foundation, which, along with several partners, organized a series of 2009 listening session to hear what caregivers had to say. They were not necessarily caregivers of parents or other frail elderly family members, Some were caring for wounded vets, others [...]
An important new study finds that patients with metastatic lung cancer who received early palliative care both lived longer and reported a better quality of life than similar patients who had only standard cancer treatment. Palliative care focuses on treating symptoms, although, unlike hospice, patients may still receive treatment for their terminal disease if they wish. Palliative care also coordinates [...]
What will our growing ability to identify Alzheimer's Disease years before a patient shows full symptoms mean for the U.S. system of voluntary long-term care insurance? The New York Times reported this week that a new test using spinal fluid can accurately identify Alzheimer's a decade before it becomes full-blown. With some patient groups, the technique--which is already commercially available--can identify future onset of the [...]
The Stanford University Center on Longevity has just released a trove of information on the health, living arrangements, and demographics of an aging America. The study, "New Realities of an Older America" tells the story of an independent, remarkably healthy population, but one that will present unique challenges as it lives well into its 80s and, eventually, reaches frail old age. For example, authors Adele Hayutin, [...]