[Organizational and methodological issues in the development of palliative care for oncological patients]

The share of patients, who apply to oncology facilities with advanced pathologies, shapes up a new situation for oncologists: the sphere of palliative care of both managerial and methodological types must be promoted. Thus, 451299 patients with malignant neoplasms, including those with wide-spread forms (i.e. stages III-IV: 59.1%), were registered in Russia in 2001. One hundred and thirty structural subunits of palliative care were set up in Russia's regions for today; another 58 are being established: however, none of them could be referred to as a perfect one because the role and functions have not yet been defined for palliative care, while all subject-related publications are isolated and scanty. The functioning of hospices and palliative-care subunits is not as a rule coordinated with the oncology service or with oncology experts. This problem should be resolved through setting up the palliative-care regional systems with the role and functions of palliative care being specified for them on the basis of the existing oncology institutes, hospitals and other patient-care facilities. This would maintain the continuity of medical care rendered to oncology patients at all disease stages.