Supportive Care Unit in Cancer

In recent years, positive developments have been taking place in cancer treatment owing to chemotherapies that target the cancer itself, targeted drugs, immunotherapies and advances in radiotherapy; complete remission rates are increasing and life expectancy is lengthening. However, cancer brings with it a serious burden of physical and psychological symptoms for patients at the time of diagnosis, during treatment and in the advanced stages of the disease. In addition to current, evidence-based cancer treatment that targets the tumor at every stage of the disease, patients need to be supported with supportive treatments for pain, nausea, fatigue, nutritional problems, depression, anxiety and many other physical and psychological complaints. Mechanisms are even needed in this process to reduce the burden on patients' relatives and to address their concerns and needs. Throughout the world, palliative care and supportive treatment units are being established to identify and meet these needs of patients and their relatives, and teams including experienced healthcare personnel, physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation specialists, chaplains and some other specialists try to meet patients' needs as quickly and accurately as possible. Palliative care and supportive treatment in cancer patients is today one of the most important topics.

At Hacettepe University Oncology Hospital, a team of physicians, nurses and dietitians who are specialists in pain, nutrition, psychosocial support and social services serves patients to meet these needs. As a result of these efforts, our hospital received accreditation as an integrated oncology and palliative care center from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in 2017, and it is the first university/public hospital in our country to receive this accreditation. In this field, which is very open not only to patient services but also to the training of research assistants and specialists, the training of patients' relatives and research, our work to carry out scientific research is also continuing.