Literature Review

Father with terminal illness fights to attend MHSAA championship to see son play Northeaset Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, MS; by Caleb McCluskey; 6/6/26 From the time Carter Barefoot, 17, could walk, he was playing baseball, especially with his father, Alan Barefoot, who played Division I baseball in college. But illness has limited his father’s ability to enjoy the game they have shared throughout their lives. ... “He never missed a game,” Carter said. After doctors diagnosed Alan, 55, with terminal cancer and admitted him to Sanctuary Hospice, he physically could not be there for most of Carter’s junior-year season. Sanctuary made it happen, arranging for Alan to attend the playoffs in Pearl, where he watched his son’s Mooreville team become Class 4A state champion. It meant the world to Carter to see his dad there. 

We couldn't afford to pay for my mom's dementia assisted living anymore. She moved into a tiny house next door to me. Business Insider; as told to Noah Sheidlower; 5/31/26 This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lori Bufka, 64, who is caring for her mother with dementia in Arizona. Assisted living became too expensive for her mother, so Bufka moved her into a trailer next to their home, where her mother would have enough space and safety. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Editor's Note: From this essay, "She went into hospice care, and we hired someone to come for a few hours a week. It was supposed to be $37 for two hours, but when I got the bill, they tacked on mileage, so it became $92. We figured it wasn't worth it, so now hospice volunteers visit every now and then, and hospice covers medically necessary appointments. ..."

Why physicians need to learn cannabis medicine now MedPageToday's KevinMD.com; by Janice Makela, MD; 5/31/26 I am a geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine physician with over 20 years of experience. Over the years, I have seen how cannabis has helped my patients, and I am very comfortable with my patients using cannabis. But like many physicians, I was not formally trained in cannabis medicine. ... Since then, I’ve learned a lot about cannabis. And I also learned that ... most doctors have very little knowledge about cannabis or the endocannabinoid system. ... As new policies roll out, health care providers need to take time to educate themselves about cannabis. Otherwise, how can we help our patients?

Is AI better for patients? KFF | This Business of Health; podcast hosted by Chip Kahn and with guest Patrick Conway, MD, MSc; 6/2/26 Is AI Better for patients? What is changing on the ground? Chip talks with Dr. Patrick Conway, Chief Executive Officer of Optum, a health services and technology business under parent company, UnitedHealth Group. They discuss how to ensure the health care industry’s use of AI serves patients first, particularly when the same company bears financial risk and builds the AI that decides who gets care. They also discuss whether use of AI can make value-based care the dominant payment framework, after two decades of policymaker support for the model.

Sovereign Hospice releases guidance on home setup for end-of-life care NEWSnet, Aubrey, TX; by Sovreign Hospice; 5/31/26 Sovereign Hospice, a Dallas-Fort Worth-based hospice and palliative care provider, has released practical guidance for families preparing to receive end-of-life care at home. ... The guidance covers room selection, durable medical equipment placement, medication organization, caregiver strategies, and a clear explanation of the services hospice offers in a home setting. It is directed at families across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex who are beginning to consider hospice at home service for a loved one with a life-limiting illness.

First do no harm: communication surrounding non-beneficial treatments American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Cassie Stanzler, MD, Adam Marks, MD, MPH, and Laura Taylor, MD, MSc; 5/21/26 Despite a consensus in the medical community that clinicians should not offer non-beneficial treatments (NBTs) to their patients, little guidance exists on the particular communication needs around this fraught topic. While intended in the spirit of non-maleficence, setting limits around NBTs can be seen by patients and families as abandonment, resulting in conflict. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide Palliative Care clinicians in communicating about these complex issues with patients and families. ... Our framework emphasizes proactive relationship building with patients and families, close attention to their values, and compassionate limit-setting when medically appropriate. 

What I've learned at the bedside: Jewish wisdom for the time before death ReformJudaism.org - Jewish Life In Your Life; by Ptarmigan Emery; 5/27/26 I have been a hospice nurse for 10 years. ... I am also a Jew, though not a particularly observant one. ... What has surprised me is how often those two parts of myself, the nurse and the Jew, have found each other in the same moment at the bedside. Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about the time before death. ... In traditional Jewish law, a person who is actively dying has a name: a goses. The rabbis gave this passage its own category, saying: this time is sacred and deserves our full attention. ...Editor's Note: Sacred Time. Without rushing or turning away, this thoughtful reflection explores how Jewish wisdom honors the moments before death as deserving presence, meaning, and our fullest attention.

Ketamine for depression in serious illness: Evidence, safety, and practical approachesJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Paul Noufi, Joshua B. Borris, Danielle Chammas, Cara L. McDermott, Nneka N. Ufere, Jason A. Webb, Daniel Shalev; 4/26Patients with serious illness and short prognoses often experience depression and suicidal ideation. Traditional antidepressants are limited by delayed onset, creating a need for rapidly acting therapies. Ketamine and esketamine [nasal spray] offer the strongest evidence among rapid-acting antidepressants and may be preferred when urgent symptom relief is needed. However, rigorous psychiatric trials in serious illness are lacking. Clinicians should consider prognosis, access to Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies-certified esketamine programs or equivalent regulatory frameworks outside the US, and the need for an appropriate maintenance regimen when integrating ketamine into palliative care depression management.

Nurse and provider perceptions of palliative care Nursing Management; by Eydie Tipton, Tracy Viers, and Chelsea Wilson; 5/1/26 Conclusions: Findings suggest that knowledge gaps may not be the primary barrier to palliative care (PC) utilization. Instead, systemic and cultural factors likely contribute to under-referral. Leadership-driven strategies, including standardized referral processes, enhanced interprofessional education, and supportive clinical environments, may help translate knowledge into consistent practice.Editor's Note: Yes, real persons are behind each research article we post. Read this community's pride in the palliative care nurses of Quincy, IL behind this study. Eydie, Tracy and Chelsea saw a need, developed a research project, and saw it through to publication: National journal publishes palliative care research by area nurses.

Palliative care education boosts assisted living staff confidence, care quality for residents with dementiaMcKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 5/27/26...  Most assisted living staff members currently say they lack the training to engage in advance care planning, according to the researchers. The National Institutes of Health, which funded [this] study, said that the palliative care education intervention studied has the potential to be delivered more broadly among assisted living communities and could be vital in addressing workforce challenges in providing high-quality palliative and end-of-life care there. 

The dying dream of the dead to be at peace with life DW; by Hannah Fuchs; 5/22/26 Many people have vivid dreams shortly before death. Research suggests the dreams are not a sign of confusion — but may help both the dying and their loved ones make sense of loss. Known as End‑of‑Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs), they often occur as dreams during sleep, and sometimes as visions while a person is awake. For those experiencing them, they can feel more vivid and real than ordinary dreams — and for those observing them from the outside, it can be unsettling. Medicine long dismissed ELDVs as episodes of sudden confusion (delirium) or as side-effects of medication. But today, the thinking is shifting.