title: The lung cancer patient, the pneumologist and palliative care: a developing alliance.
abstract: Considerable evidence is now available on the value of palliative care for lung cancer patients in all stages and at all times during the course of the disease. However, pneumologists and their institutions seem to be widely in arrears with the implementation of palliative care concepts and the development of integrated structures. This review focuses on the available evidence and experience of various frequently unmet needs of lung cancer patients, especially psychological, social, spiritual and cultural ones. A PubMed search for evidence on these aspects of palliative care as well as on barriers to the implementation, on outcome parameters and effectiveness, and on structure and process quality was performed with a special focus on lung cancer patients. As a consequence, this review particularly draws pneumologists' attention to improving their skills in communication with the patients, their relatives and among themselves, and to establish team structures with more far-reaching competences and continuity than existing multilateral cooperations and conferences can provide. Ideally, any process of structural and procedural improvement should be accompanied by scientific evaluation and measures for quality optimisation.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Pneumologie, Lungenklinik Heckeshorn, HELIOS Klinikum Emil von Behring, Berlin, Germany torsten-gerriet.blum@helios-kliniken.de.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Pneumologie, Lungenklinik Heckeshorn, HELIOS Klinikum Emil von Behring, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schönfeld
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers; D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000458:organization & administration; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D010348:Patient Care Team; D015272:Pulmonary Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality