A diagnosis of advanced stage of cancer can be quite overwhelming; not just for the patient but also for their family. In such cases, mere treatments do not help much as these have a lot of side effects which can impact daily activities and functioning. In this context, palliative care comes to the rescue by offering comfort, dignity, and overall well-being of the patient. Palliative care does not imply caring for only the final stages of life, but it also means a comprehensive, patient-centred approach designed to improve the overall quality of life of patient suffering from a serious illness, including advanced cancer.
More about Palliative care
Palliative care can be given at any stage of the disease and to patients of any age group. It is different from hospice care which is aimed to provide comfort and care to terminally ill patients whose life expectancy is up to six months or less. Palliative care team consists of a multidisciplinary, specialized set of professionals which includes healthcare providers, nurses, social workers, counsellors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, etc.
Benefits of Palliative care in advanced cancer
The treatments offered during advanced stage of cancer can be quite rigorous and affects the patients physically, mentally, and emotionally. There are a lot of side effects that a patient suffers from as a result of treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, etc. Palliative care works in a three-fold manner for advanced cancer patients.
1. Symptom control: When palliative care is provided to advanced cancer patients, there is a marked difference seen in the management of treatment side effects such as fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, etc. A palliative care team assesses the symptoms using systematic symptom evaluation tool such as the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. This tool evaluates the intensity of a patient’s common symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, appetite, etc. on a 0-10 numeric scale.
2. Lower cost: Patients with advanced cancer who received palliative care incurred lower medical costs during treatment. The reason behind this is that palliative care recipients had less number of days spent in acute inpatient care setting, avoiding the need for excessive and unnecessary procedures.
3. Better survival: Advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care showed better survival rates due to better symptom control. Also, physical and psychosocial functioning of these patients exhibited better adaptation to adhere to cancer treatment regimens. Further, physical and emotional distress is linked to greater cancer mortalities. However, due to palliative care accessibility, less depression and anxiety is noted among advanced cancer patients, thereby increasing survival rates.
Early access to palliative care among advanced cancer patients can be achieved by intense collaboration between medical oncologists and palliative care teams. Early referral to palliative care has been shown to demonstrate timely diagnosis and management of symptoms through extended psychosocial support and counselling. Nevertheless, there is still a greater need of understanding the ideal time and most useful components of palliative care. Living with advanced cancer can undoubtedly be challenging but the focus should remain on improving the quality of life. As awareness grows, embracing palliative care should be an integral part of cancer treatment which helps patients and their families better cope with advanced cancer.