Strategies for palliative care in advanced colorectal cancer

Palliative care has appropriately been receiving increased attention in recent years. From the surgeon's standpoint, therapy is considered palliative when resection of all known tumor sites is no longer possible or advisable. Since a cure, as commonly defined, is not possible, the goal of treatment and eventually the success of therapy becomes judged by the control of symptoms and alleviation of suffering. Providing optimal palliative care for the patient with advanced colorectal cancer is a complex and challenging process. The process of providing palliative care may be a departure from the traditional surgical satisfaction derived from the complete excision of a malignancy, but surgeons achieving excellence in palliative care will likely find this a rewarding endeavor.