Palliative care in oncology

Abstract

The author presents a number of issues regarding palliative medicine and its place in oncology. The definition of palliative care and the terminology used within its field are also discussed. The need of including palliative medicine within the scope of oncology was emphasized. Among numerous problems encountered in palliative medicine the author focuses on euthanasia. In the field of symptomatic treatment the author describes the history of the appearance of modern-day standards of cancer pain treatment. Two issues are also presented as calling for closer scrutiny of oncological specialists — weariness and cancer cachexia.