Integration of care with cure in cancer

Quality of life is as important as quantity of life, if not more. In some life-threatening diseases, the possibility of cure is sometimes poor, and symptoms of the disease reduce the quality of life too. Improvement of symptoms helps the patients to live more comfortably while allowing them to retain their autonomy and dignity despite the life-threatening disease. The total care of such patients, helping them to live as well as possible in spite of their symptoms forms the basis of palliative care. Palliative care is an upcoming discipline, which aims to provide comfort to patients suffering from severe disease-related discomfort. It is not end-of-life support, as previously thought but is recommended to be integrated with therapy right from diagnosis. Studies conducted overseas show that when introduced early, palliative care leads to better outcomes of curative therapies, while making the patient comfortable and pain-free. There are different models and methods of delivery of palliative care and the involvement of family in the care of the patient produces the best outcome. Palliative care can be delivered both at a dedicated centre as well as at the patient's home, depending on the preferences of the patient. This paper discusses the efforts towards providing care for patients in different stages of cancer therapy.