Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer

Patient Guideline

Publication Date: May 15, 2024
Last Updated: May 17, 2024

Objective:

Objective:

This patient summary is about the key takeaways from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guideline update for palliative care for patients with cancer.
The purpose of this patient summary is to provide new evidence-based recommendations to guide adult patients with cancer and caregivers in making informed decisions about their treatment plans.

Overview:

Overview:

  • Palliative care means prevention, management, and relieving the symptoms of both the cancer and the side effects of its treatment.
  • It aims to improve the quality of life of the patients and support the caregivers.
  • Palliative care can be primary palliative care or specialty palliative care.
  • This patient summary offers recommendations for the best palliative care for cancer patients and their non-professional caregivers.
  • Throughout this patient summary, we will use the term "caregiver" or "family caregiver" to refer to people supporting someone with cancer. It is different from a professional “care provider” or “care team.”

Palliative Care:

Palliative Care:

How can palliative care be offered?

Cancer care teams help refer patients with advanced solid (mass) tumors and hematologic (blood) malignancies to specialized palliative care teams.
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Where can palliative care be offered?

  • The palliative care teams can provide care either outside or inside the hospital.
  • That means it can be at the cancer clinic, at the hospital, or at home.
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When can palliative care be offered?

Palliative care should start early after the cancer diagnosis, alongside the cancer treatment. For patients with advanced cancer, early specialist palliative care involvement is recommended, especially if the symptoms are not under control.
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What types of stresses can palliative care help with?

  • Patients with cancer can struggle with different types of stresses: physical, emotional, or spiritual.
  • Palliative care services help reduce these stresses.
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What are the essential components of palliative care?

  • Building relationships with patients and family caregivers.
  • Managing physical symptoms such as pain, difficulty breathing, being very tired, sleep problems, nausea, or constipation.
    • Managing physical symptoms includes the use of medications, physical therapy, nutrition counseling, or other approaches.
  • Educating about the illness and outcomes in the future.
  • Explaining treatment goals.
  • Helping with emotional support for anxiety or depression.
    • This includes counseling, coping and relaxation techniques, and joining advocacy groups.
  • Helping with spiritual support.
  • Helping with decision-making.
  • Working with other cancer care providers.
  • Arranging for referrals to other care providers if needed.
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Palliative care and cancer trials:

  • Cancer care teams for patients with advanced solid tumors in cancer trials may refer them to specialists in palliative care.
    • Clinical trials proceed in steps, each of which addresses specific issues with a proposed treatment. Issues include the effect of the treatment on the disease, safety, proper dosing, and identification of side effects.
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Additional resources:

Additional resources:

Source Citation

Sanders JJ, Temin S, Ghosal A, et al. Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer: ASCO Guideline Update. J Clin Oncol. 2024 May 15. doi: 10.1200/JCO.24.00542