Palliative Care in Lung Cancer

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Defining palliative care

Palliative care is a concept in medical care that has expanded within the last decade to address the supportive care needs that accompany the occurrence of life-threatening disease. The concept addresses different aspects in the trajectory of cancer. In its recent 2009 update, the National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care defines palliative care as “medical care provided by an interdisciplinary team, including the professions of medicine, nursing,

Summary

Lung cancer continues to be the second most common cancer in the United States with over 157,000 patients expected to die from the disease this year.1 Advancements in the surgical and medical treatment of lung cancer have resulted in more favorable short-term survival outcomes. Treatment, however, can be complex, and long-term survival with the most current, cutting-edge technologies remains elusive. After initial treatment, lung cancer requires continued surveillance and follow-up for

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    This work is supported by Grant No. P01-CA136396–01 from the National Cancer Institute.

    The authors have nothing to disclose.

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