Love Without Food: Supporting Families End-of-Life Care Decisions for Critically Ill Late-Stage Cancer Patients

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1098561ar

Keywords:

bioethics, cancer care, end-of-life care, clinical ethics, cachexia, nutrition, difficult cases

Language(s):

English

Abstract

In some families, there is an inseparable connection between showing love, caring, and providing food. These conceptual connections can create tension between families and care teams over end-of-life care for critically ill late-stage cachexic patients with cancer when families demand that their loved one receive feeds. This case study describes how to dissolve these tensions without compromising the family’s values or the medical team’s ethical duty of nonmaleficence.

(c) Han Han Li

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Published

2023-04-06

How to Cite

[1]
Palmer A. Love Without Food: Supporting Families End-of-Life Care Decisions for Critically Ill Late-Stage Cancer Patients. Can. J. Bioeth 2023;6:81-3. https://doi.org/10.7202/1098561ar.

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023): Open Issue

Section

Case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Amitabha Palmer

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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