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Previous Volume 335:201-202 July 18, 1996 Number 3 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Growing up in West Virginia, I would hear older folks say, "Mr. Jones is failing now." They meant that he had entered the final phase of disease and was now too tired to fulfill his usual obligations or even to care for himself and that he would soon take to his bed and die. This folk observation reflects the National Hospice Study's finding that measures of the quality of life of most persons dying of cancer declined substantially in their last few weeks.¹ Except for iatrogenic episodes, cancer usually means long periods of functional stability or slow decline, followed by . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

Related Letters:

Medicare Hospice Programs
Roda P. I., Gandhi H., Mor V., Castle N. G., Christakis N. A., Escarce J. J.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1996; 335:1926-1927, Dec 19, 1996. Correspondence

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