Oslo University Hospital - Integrating Palliative and Supportive Care into Mainstream Oncology

Palliative and supportive care plays an essential part in the treatment of cancer patients, with proven effects including improved survival, symptom control, reduced anxiety, depression as well as overall improved quality of life at lower cost to healthcare providers.

However due to a lack of international standards, misunderstanding about the role of palliative care as solely end-of-life care, stigma around death and dying, as well as lack of funding and infrastructure, palliative and supportive care is often poorly or incompletely implemented into the care of cancer patients.

At Oslo University Hospital doctors and clinical staff have been working for the last decade to rethink the way palliative and supportive care is integrated into mainstream oncology, undertaking research to determine how best to care for patients.

Through systematic assessment and the use of patient-reported outcomes, researchers are working to establish integrated care pathways, brought together by multidisciplinary teams, and implemented through improved training and education of all clinical staff.

At the same time, by working with molecular biologists and other scientists conducting basic research, they are also developing a better understanding of the biological and clinical effect of living with cancer in order to better manage pain and quality of life during and after treatment.

Oslo University Hospital’s work has led to the publication of a Lancet Commission on Integration of oncology and palliative care.

In order to provide complete and integrated palliative and supportive care for patients, oncologists need to deal with the disease not just from a tumour or host approach, but view the disease from the patient’s perspective.

At the same time, the field of oncology needs this integrated approach to be adopted and supported by policy makers and guideline providers so that new care models, education and research programmes are established at the national and international level.