[Palliative care complementing cancer treatment]

Abstract

Palliative medicine had conventionally been initiated after all avenues of anticancer treatment were exhausted, and the treatment of other medical problems was considered inappropriate. However, it is increasingly being recognized that the palliative principles and interdisciplinary palliative care should be initiated when a patient becomes symptomatic with an incurable disease, and should never be withheld only after all modalities of anticancer treatment have failed. Palliative care should be regarded as being complementary to direct cancer treatment. It should be implemented long before the terminal phases of the disease, and integrated in a seamless manner with other aspects of support. Palliative care is no longer merely terminal care.