Literature Review

Chronic pain and unrecognized grief: epistemic barriers to personal and social recognition Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy; by Christopher Jude McCarroll, Ying-Tung Lin, Dominik Koesling, and Claudia Bozzaro; 3/29/26 What is it to grieve? What is the nature of grief? ... Importantly, a close examination of the phenomenology of chronic pain helps illuminate the ways in which it also involves the kind of losses that we can grieve over. The losses involved in experiences of chronic pain impact one’s practical identity in ways that can lead to grief. This chronic pain grief remains largely unrecognized, however. We outline four epistemic barriers to recognizing the grief involved in experiences of chronic pain. ...

Delivering palliative care in mental health nursing settings: A systematic review Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing; by Oladapo Akinlotan, Allen O'Connor, Ruben Seetharamdoo, Mo Ghoorun; 3/6/26 Palliative care can provide comfort, alleviate suffering, and improve quality of life; however, access to palliative care for people with mental illnesses at the end of their lives is extremely poor. As the need for palliative care is expected to rise significantly in the future, palliative care must be considered a global health priority. ...  Recommendations: Although care for people with complex mental illness is complex while dying, conversations around palliative care need to be as part of a therapeutic relationship and engagement. Also, palliative care staff have an important role in communicating end-of-life planning to patients' families and carers.

Pikes Peak Hospice donation drive smashes goal; 150 new blankets collected for veteran patients The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO; by O'Dell Isaac; 3/2/26 Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care reached out the local community with an ambitious request in early January ... [asking] for donations of up to 100 new, handmade lap blankets for its veteran patients by March 2. ... The community has answered the call – and then some. More than 150 red, white and blue blankets have been donated, with more donations still arriving, ... "We've been overwhelmed by this incredible response," said Sonya Bergeron, veteran liaison with Pikes Peak Hospice.

Clinicians outline strategies to improve cancer care in U.S. prisons Oncology Times; by Kumar Das, Dibash PhD; March 2026 Cancer is now the leading cause of death in U.S. prisons, and outcomes for incarcerated patients are markedly worse than for those in the general population. A 2022 study of Connecticut's prison system found that people diagnosed with cancer while incarcerated had 92% higher mortality compared with 16% higher mortality observed in England and Wales. The difference, researchers said, underscores the role of healthcare access and correctional policy in shaping cancer survival.

Themed digest for palliative care professionals: Spiritual support for children ehospice | PACED; February 2026 Spiritual support remains one of the most complex and, at the same time, most essential elements of palliative care. In the February PACED digest, we present articles exploring the integration of spiritual care into nursing practice, families’ experiences in paediatric palliative care, and the role of professionals in discussing end-of-life issues with children and adolescents. This issue includes materials on professional competencies, system-level recommendations, and parents’ lived experiences. Together, they offer insight into how spiritual and value-based questions shape clinical practice and influence the quality of support provided to families. ...

Palliative care physician explains living and dying with ALS Forbes; by Adaira Landry, MD, MEd; 2/26/26 Actor Eric Dane’s recent death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has drawn national attention. ... Beyond the headlines lies a deeper and more urgent discussion: what life—and death—look like for patients living with ALS. To better understand both the clinical and scientific landscape, I spoke with Dr. Maria “Marissa” Mapa, an internal medicine and palliative care physician who treats patients with ALS, and Dr. Melanie Leitner, chief scientific officer of the ALS Investment Fund, about current and future research directions.

Q&A: Why are more Americans under 50 years of age dying of colorectal cancer? Medscape; by Keith Mulvihill; 2/10/26 First, the good news: Fewer Americans younger than 50 years are dying from cancer vs just a decade ago — reflecting progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment. There is, however, one big exception. Colorectal cancer mortality has been steadily inching up, and the disease now stands as the leading cause of cancer death in this age group, up from the fifth-leading in the early 1990s. ... The outlier is colorectal cancer, where mortality has been rising by about 1% per year since 2005. And it’s a pattern seen in both men and women. ... [The researchers are asked,] "Can you offer some possible reasons for the declining mortality in most of the cancers you studied?" 

Do you feel like an emotional sponge? Here’s how to protect your energy and refocus Real Simple; by Nandini Maharaj; 3/1/26 It’s possible to stay compassionate without feeling drained—experts explain how. ... [There's] a difference between healthy forms of distraction—like going for a walk or taking deep breaths—and unhealthy habits. We asked mental health experts about healthy and unhealthy distractions and how to protect your energy when you’re feeling like an emotional sponge.

Chris Remely: Understanding burial and cremation — part 2 Bozeman Daily Chronicle (BDC); by Chris Remely; 2/21/26 ... Cremation is not new. Records dating back thousands of years indicate that people along the Greek Peninsula were the first to practice cremation. It was primarily done as a practical way to bring the bodies of fallen warriors home to honor them. ... The first cremation in America was performed in 1876 in Pennsylvania. Today, approximately 60 percent of persons who die in the United States choose cremation. What is cremation and how is it performed? ...

What my sister Ellen taught me about dignity and the importance of being seen: A powerful reflection on person-centered care, bias, and the true meaning of human dignity in medicine Good Men Project; by Harvey Max Chochinov; 2/23/26 Several years before her death at the age of 55 years due to complications of cerebral palsy, my sister Ellen was again in hospital, this time in intensive care and on the brink of respiratory collapse.  ... I’ve spent my entire career as a psychiatrist working in palliative care. This has included leading a large program of research, examining most aspects of end-of-life experience for patients nearing death. Recently I have recast the Golden Rule for healthcare professionals, reminding them they must aspire to a higher standard. I have coined this The Platinum Rule: do unto others as they would want done unto themselves. This means that healthcare professionals can’t presume to know what is in the patient’s best interest based on what they themselves would want in those circumstances; in other words, they need to take the time to consider the patient’s goals, hopes and wishes.

Physicians slightly more likely to die at home or hospice Chronic Disease, Public Health; by Adrian Wong and Michaela Dowling; 2/23/26 1. In this cross-sectional study, physicians were slightly more likely to die at home or in hospice than both the general population and individuals in other professions.2. The largest absolute differences between physicians and other professional groups were observed when Alzheimer disease or stroke was the underlying cause of death.

Palliative care and quality outcomes in patients with brain metastases and poor prognosis: A multi-institutional analysis JCO Oncology Practice - An American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal; by Rohit Singh, MD, Camilo E. Fadul, MD, Emily Kopp, MS, Guneet Sarai, MD, Roger Anderson, PhD, Ryan F. Amidon, MD, Samantha Schuetz, MD, Amy Chang, MD, Ausia N. Iqbal, MD, Joseph A. Bovi, MD, and Alissa A. Thomas, MD; 2/23/26 Purpose: To analyze the patterns of palliative care (PC) consultation for patients with brain metastases (BMETs) and its association with treatment, overall survival (OS), and quality metrics (eg, advance directives [ADs], hospice enrollment). Conclusion: The involvement of PC services correlated with higher completion rates of ADs and increased hospice utilization, without compromising survival or significantly altering other treatment options. There is an unmet need for PC among patients with BMETs with poor prognosis.

A nationwide retrospective analysis of trends in palliative care consultation and do-not-resuscitate status in heart failure hospitalizations Palliative Medicine; by Nikitha Murthy, Ramy Sedhom, Purvi Parwani, Megan Pelter, Liset Stoletniy, Tanya Doctorian, Diane Tran, Antoine Sakr, Dmitry Abramov; 2/21/26 Conclusions: While palliative care and do-not-resuscitate use among heart failure hospitalizations have increased, they remain low. Over half of those who die during a heart failure admission do not receive palliative care consultation, underscoring missed opportunities to optimize end-of-life care.