Palliative care for the cancer patient.
Palliation of symptoms to optimize QOL is the foundation of cancer care regardless of stage of disease or level of anticancer treatment. Patients commonly experience pain, constipation, nausea, vomiting, dyspnea, fatigue, and delirium. Many valid clinical tools are available to the primary care clinician to screen for symptoms, assess severity, measure treatment response, and elicit the patient's subjective symptom experience. Although there is limited evidence regarding the relative efficacy of symptom interventions from randomized controlled trials, clinical practice guidelines are available.
Reville
Barbara
B
Palliative Care Service, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. barbara.reville@jefferson.edu
Axelrod
David
D
Maury
Rebecca
R
D003248:Constipation / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy