Symptom control in terminal illness

Toward the goal of comfort and quality of life, symptom management is utmost in importance and requires constant reassessment of the patient. Before launching a medication program, each set of symptoms should be assessed by history, physical examination, and laboratory tests. When symptoms can be understood in the context of the disease without correctable, specific causes, the physician can carefully prescribe treatments to alleviate the misery and suffering. The most common symptoms in terminally ill cancer patients are anxiety and depression (80 to 90 per cent); pain (66 per cent); nausea, vomiting, and constipation (50 per cent); and respiratory symptoms (30 to 40 per cent). Medical attention to these discomforts will help the patient and family to cope better with the dying process.