Palliative Care Didactic Course for Radiation Oncology Residents

Abstract

Nearly half of patients who receive radiation therapy are treated by palliative intent ( 1 Tseng Y.D. Krishnan M.S. Jones J.A. et al. Supportive and palliative radiation oncology service: Impact of a dedicated service on palliative cancer care. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2014; 4: 247-253 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar ), and the majority of patients with advanced cancer have physical and psychosocial symptoms that profoundly interfere with quality of life. Palliative care is specialized medical care aimed at relieving symptoms and stress from serious illness, with the goal of improving quality of life, and it is a key part of oncology care ( 2 Bickel K.E. McNiff K. Buss M.K. et al. Defining high-quality palliative care in oncology practice: An American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine guidance statement. J Oncol Pract. 2016; 12: e828-e838 Crossref PubMed Scopus (94) Google Scholar ). During consultation, treatment, and in follow-up, radiation oncologists play an important role in providing primary palliative care, including assessing goals of care to ensure treatments align with patients' wishes, screening for uncontrolled symptoms, discussing prognosis, delivering difficult news, and making referrals to supportive services (such as palliative care and psycho-oncology) ( 3 Quill T.E. Abernethy A.P. Generalist plus specialist palliative care—creating a more sustainable model. N Engl J Med. 2013; 368: 1173-1175 Crossref PubMed Scopus (951) Google Scholar ).