Palliative care in present-day oncology
Journal Title: Postępy Nauk Medycznych - Year 2011, Vol 24, Issue 2
Abstract
Palliative care may well be considered both the youngest and the most rapidly growing field of oncology. In its modern form it does not go back further than the 1960’s and arises directly from the works of C. Saunders and E. Kuebler Ross. Later the propagation of pain treatment standards and its development were significantly aided by the activity of the World Health Organization. The implementation of palliative medicine in Poland began in the 1980’s and at the onset it was a voluntary movement, while since the 1990’s it began to find its place within the National Health Care System and in 1999 it became a separate medical specialty for both physicians and the nursing staff. At present Poland is in the lead among European countries as far as the accessibility of palliative care is concerned and palliative medicine procedures are subject to National Health Care System refunds and therefore provided for the patients on a none-cost basis.Quality of life is the utmost goal of palliative medicine. In view of this it stands in direct and decisive opposition to euthanasia, but also to persistent therapy. The application of a rationalized approach to symptomatic treatment has improved the results of cancer pain alleviation. Pharmacologic treatment of pain based on opioids and adjuvant drugs is effective in some 80-90% of cases, but metabolic disorders leading to cancer cachexia remain a persisting issue. The latter clinical condition may be tackled by rationalizing diagnostics and introducing early and differentiated nutritional and pharmacologic modalities
Authors and Affiliations
Jerzy Jarosz
Keywords
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