Palliative Care in Gynecologic Cancers

Abstract

Gynecologic cancers constitute a significant part of cancer load, especially in developing countries, and may be an important reason for mortality and morbidity for women in these countries. Procedures in diagnosis and treatment for gynecologic cancers might remain insufficient, and disorders related to symptoms may negatively influence the quality of life of women and their families. In this respect, interest on palliative care in gynecologic cancer cases has increased. The literature demonstrates that palliative care allows women to remain active as much as possible in the period between diagnosis and death, aids in management of pain and discomfort during the terminal stage, and ensures a comfortable death process. Palliative care has been shown to improve quality of life, mood, symptom control, satisfaction, survival duration, and caregiver satisfaction, depression, and stress burden. Palliative care improves healthcare utilization outcomes such as decreased hospital costs. Therefore, healthcare provider training and palliative care for patients need to be integrated into standard oncology care.