Physician s role in communication with the patient and his family in the context of pediatric oncology. What does the involvement of palliative care physician look like in the care of children with cancer who undergo curative treatment?
Abstract
Early integration of palliative care is understood to be the standard of care in pediatric oncology in children with unfavorable prognosis according to the international guidelines. Early integration of palliative care improves effective communication with the patient and the parents, helps information delivery to the family and facilitates advance care planning.
Palliative care team is addressed and involved while the patient undergoes curative anticancer treatment. Physician ́s role in early phase of palliative care is mostly focused on communication, because other palliative care physician ́s competencies, such as discussion of expected scenarios or terminal symptom management are usually applied at the end-of-life period.
Our article introduces the communication competencies of pediatric oncologist and palliative care physicians during the process of delivering complex care to the patient and the family. The article is based on foreign literature and the experience from University Motol Hospital in Prague.