SUPPORTIVE CARE OF CANCER PATIENTS PROGRAM FOR PALLIATIVE TREATMENT OF ONCOLOGICAL PATIENTS
Patients diagnosed with cancer require a number of services during the evolution of their disease. Like a consequence of the disease, the treatment and rehabilitation, the patients may require concrete services such as hospitalization care, medical assistance at home, medical equipment, financial support, transportation, information and counseling. These needs occur as a result of medical assistance system’s requests, bureaucracy, financial limits and due to emotional problems experienced by patients and their families during the course of the disease. If these necessities cannot be accomplished, the patients are not able to face the intensive therapeutic regimens and show a lower moral, failing to return to a normal activity and lifestyle after an acute episode of disease.
The necessary resources to fulfill the material and emotional needs of patients have never been so important for treatment and recovery, like in actual medical climate.
In last years the trend toward de-hospitalization affected the activity in oncology.
Ambulatory medical care, treatment center in an outpatient setting (chemotherapy and radiotherapy), one day-treatment hospitals and delivery of chemotherapy and other treatments in outpatient made that hospital not to be the only medical center. Thus, cancer became a chronic disease instead of an acute disorder for an increasing number of patients. The real effect of these trends is that the major requests are placed on informational system in family and community.
The needs for medical assistance at home occur due to patient’s inability to fulfill the tasks related to daily activities and treatment. These tasks enhance along with the disease’s progression and are complicated by the toxic side effects of the treatment. Therefore, many of tasks that were realized in hospital need to be accomplished by family’s members or other non-specialized care personnel.
In response to these new conditions, Romanian Cancer League wants to develop new models for medical care, for some communitary services and a performant care system.
The goals of the program
Taking in account the complex services requested by cancer patients, Romanian Cancer League proposes like long-term goals, the following:
- The report, education and counseling of the individuals and their families about cancer.
- Supportive care at home of the cancer patients
- Provider of medical equipment (wheel-chairs, bags for stoma etc.)
- Financial assistance
- The transportation of patients and care personnel.
- The education of physicians with other specialties, medical assistance and nurses in the domain of oncology.
- Terminal patients and their needs-Palliative treatment and supportive care of the terminally patients.
- The assurance of adequate diagnosis and treatment through purchase of :
- Computer tomograph
- Kits for detection of tumoral markers (CAE, PSA, CA 125, AFP, HCG)
- Radiotherapy equipment.