The World Health Organization defines palliative care as a way of caring for people with life-threatening illnesses which focuses on quality of life, through the prevention and relief of suffering by prevention and management of pain and other problems, physical, psychological and spiritual. In 2014, the World Health Assembly Resolution on Palliative Care urged member countries to include palliative care as an integral component of treatment within the continuum of care.
With emerging new treatment strategies against cancers, there is a growing proportion of patients with advanced cancer, strongly associated with younger age group, using prolonged anti-cancer drug therapy, mostly with palliative intent, and even until near end of life. Although researchers have identified the advantages of early integration of palliative care in oncological treatment, however, many patients are referred to palliative care service only after discontinuation of systemic anti-cancer treatment. The reasons behind low access rate to palliative care could be inadequate resource availability, ignorance or lack of awareness of resources, referrer or patient and family reluctance and restricted service eligibility.
In Mar 2018, we initiated a programme of early psychosocial support for advanced cancer patients undergoing systemic anticancer treatment as a form of integrated palliative care service in oncology treatment. Screening tools are used to measure the stress level of every new patient attending chemotherapy clinic. High scored patients are referred to social workers of oncology team for individual counselling. Trained nurses focus on physical as well as psychosocial complaints of patients followed up in chemotherapy nurse clinics. Streamlined pathway is used to ensure an efficient referral of service from frontline clinical staffs of the department.
Co-location with:
