Fulltext

Augmented Package of Palliative Care for Women With Cervical Cancer: Responding to Refractory Suffering

Krakauer EL 1 , Kane K 1 , Kwete X 2 , Afshan G 3 , Bazzett-Matabele L 4 , Ruthnie Bien-Aimé DD 5 Show all authors , Borges LF 6 , Byrne-Martelli S 1 , Connor S 7 , Correa R 8 , Devi CRB 9 , Diop M 10 , Elmore SN 11 , Gafer N 12 , Goodman A 13 , Grover S 14 , Hasenburg A 15 , Irwin K 16 , Kamdar M 17 , Kumar S 18 , Nguyen Truong QX 19 , Randall T 13 , Rassouli M 20 , Sessa C 21 , Spence D 22 , Trimble T 23 , Varghese C 24 , Fidarova E 24

Affiliations 

  • 1 Division of Palliative Care & Geriatric Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • 2 Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
  • 3 Department of Anaesthesiology, Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
  • 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
  • 5 Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 6 Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 7 Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, Fairfax, VA
  • 8 Gynecologic Oncology Unit & Palliative Care Service, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
  • 9 Normah Medical Specialist Centre, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 10 Cancer Institute of Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
  • 11 Department of Radiation Oncology University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
  • 12 Radiation and Isotope Centre, Khartoum Oncology Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan
  • 13 Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • 14 Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  • 15 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Maine, Germany
  • 16 Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 17 Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 18 Institute of Palliative Medicine, Medical College, Kerala, India
  • 19 College of Public Health Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 20 Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  • 21 Department of Medical Oncology, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland
  • 22 Hope Institute Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica
  • 23 National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
  • 24 Department of Non-communicable Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
JCO Glob Oncol, 2021 06;7:886-895.
PMID: 34115537 DOI: 10.1200/GO.21.00027

Abstract

The essential package of palliative care for cervical cancer (EPPCCC), described elsewhere, is designed to be safe and effective for preventing and relieving most suffering associated with cervical cancer and universally accessible. However, it appears that women with cervical cancer, more frequently than patients with other cancers, experience various types of suffering that are refractory to basic palliative care such as what can be provided with the EPPCCC. In particular, relief of refractory pain, vomiting because of bowel obstruction, bleeding, and psychosocial suffering may require additional expertise, medicines, or equipment. Therefore, we convened a group of experienced experts in all aspects of care for women with cervical cancer, and from countries of all income levels, to create an augmented package of palliative care for cervical cancer with which even suffering refractory to the EPPCCC often can be relieved. The package consists of medicines, radiotherapy, surgical procedures, and psycho-oncologic therapies that require advanced or specialized training. Each item in this package should be made accessible whenever the necessary resources and expertise are available.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications