Dr Shaheen Khan, Independent Oncology’s Consultant in Palliative Medicine, has recently contributed to a published article in www.nature.com which focusses on the palliative care of cancer patients.

You can read a short introduction to the full article here

So what is Palliative Medicine?

The UK General Medical Council defines end-of-life patients as those likely to die within the next 12 months. This includes patients whose death is imminent, those expected within a few hours or days, and those with gradually progressive incurable conditions, such as advanced-stage cancer.

Although the terms ‘palliative care’ and ‘end-of-life care’ are often used interchangeably, the latter is more commonly reserved for patients deemed to be in their last year of life and for whom no curative treatments are available.

Independent Oncology’s Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Dr Shaheen Khan, takes a broad approach to palliative care. He views palliative medicine as care that reduces suffering and alleviate distress by focusing on the needs of patients and their carers in a holistic manner throughout the treatment process, and importantly not just at end of life.

Palliative care is a collaborative approach which requires the input of all the medical professionals involved in a patient’s care – from physicians, nurses and professionals with expertise in psychological support, spiritual care and physical therapies, to the families and carers of the patient.

The article in nature.com raises some difficult questions. When a patient is no longer being treated with curative intent, what do they actually want from their physicians? Patients with advanced-stage cancer found that the most important factors associated with a ‘good death’ were “to have my pain/symptoms well controlled”, “to not be a burden to my family”, “to have sorted out my personal affairs”, “to be involved in decisions about my care” and “to be mentally alert until death”.

Defining a ‘good death’ is challenging and is of course, subjective. The experience of a ‘good death’ for a patient may differ significantly from the experience of their carers. Expert Palliative care professionals such as Dr Khan, will carefully consider the needs and wishes of the patient, in close consultation with the patient’s medical team, and importantly, their families and relatives, to achieve the best possible outcome.

For more information about Dr Shaheen Khan, click here
National Council of Palliative Care