Continuing care in a medical center: the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Palliative Care Service

Abstract

Approximately 500,000 people die of cancer in the United States each year. Most attention has focused on curative approaches to cancer management. Despite the fact that 80% of persons with advanced cancer suffer from chronic pain and an equal number have a major problem with anorexia and weight loss, little systematic evaluation of these problems has been conducted, although they have a high medical, psychological, and socioeconomic impact. The need for a palliative care service (PCS) at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation was originally identified by physicians within the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology. During 1987, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate the service, define its potential patient base, and assess its impact on patient care. It is astonishing that so little attention has been paid to this area by the major institutions and organizations involved in care of patients with advanced cancer, despite the hundreds of thousands dying of the disease each year. A dedicated palliative care service would therefore seem appropriate in any major medical institution dealing with significant numbers of cancer patients. It also seems appropriate that the provision of a PCS should be part of the requirements for a comprehensive cancer center, if a center is to claim to provide the entire spectrum of services, from diagnosis until death.