Palliative care: meaningful benefit in oncology care.

Palliative care addresses the symptoms of cancer throughout the course of the disease. Moreover, rather than just improving end-of-life care, palliative care also improves survival. It has long been established that a patient’s survival is dependent on the palliation of symptoms caused by cancer therapy, such as neutropenia and chemotherapy-induced nausea. However, the relief of other symptoms, such as pain, has also been shown to increase survival.[1,2]