Experts call for early palliative care for cancer patients

Questions To Ask Your Health Care Provider

• What kind of outpatient palliative care services do you provide at this hospital/cancer center/clinic?
• Which palliative care services are available to me now?
• Do you have a palliative care specialist who can meet with me?
• I am bothered by this specific symptom or side effect (e.g., fatigue, rash, nausea, pain, mouth sores, hair loss). What do you recommend? Note: It is okay to ask for help with the same thing more than once or twice. Tell your healthcare team what you have already tried.
• I am dealing with this quality-of-life issue (sadness, money, spending time with loved ones, work, anxiety). Who can I talk to about this?
• My caregivers or loved ones are having trouble coping with my diagnosis. Can you refer us to a palliative care specialist who can support my care team?

Open Clinical Trials

The following studies are looking at palliative care for people diagnosed with cancer:

• Coaching for Family Caregivers of People with Advanced Cancer from Rural and Minority Communities. This study provides coaching to urban African Americans and white or African American families with cancer who live in the rural Southeast. Navigators working with a palliative care team provide six health coaching sessions either in person or over the phone to help with managing stress and coping, getting and asking for help, improving caregiving skills and decision-making/advance care planning.  
• NCT04733469: EMPOWER 3: Improving Palliative Care Health Literacy and Utilization (EMPOWER 3).  This study is designed to test an educational intervention to help patients understand palliative care, use it and feel better emotionally and physically. 
• NCT04773639: Randomized Clinical Trial of a Multi-Modal Palliative Care Intervention. This study evaluates a new approach to palliative care to address advanced care planning and psychosocial needs of patients with metastatic cancer. 
• NCT06307535: Study of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers to People With Cancer. Participants will complete questionnaires and will be assigned to receive psychotherapy for 7 sessions. 
• NCT05477784: Cancer Parenting Program for the Enhancement of the Quality of Life of Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Children (EC-PC). This trial examines the usefulness of two educational programs for parents with late-stage cancer who have a 5- to 17-year-old child.