Overview of Hospice and Palliative Care in Oncology.

BACKGROUND: The concept of palliative care in oncology has not yet reached the forefront of American medicine, and hospice care may be underused. METHODS: Data on increasing needs for palliative care and the development of the hospice movement are compared with practice behavior patterns of physicians in regard to palliative care. RESULTS: Hospice/palliative care has grown from an alternative health care movement to an accepted part of the American health field. Limitations of hospice/palliative care include health professionals' discomfort with care of the terminally ill as well as difficulties in predicting limited prognoses that may hinder access to such care. CONCLUSIONS: Hospice/palliative care principles should be integrated into other elements of cancer control to ensure comprehensive care for all cancer patients.