Arif Kamal, Chief Patient Officer of American Cancer Society and President of American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
”New research out from the American Cancer Society shows that only 1 in 5 young adults with advanced cancer are receiving palliative care as part of their overall treatment.
Cancer profoundly disrupts the lives of young adults.
Beyond its physical effects, it can impact relationships, education, and plans for the future. As palliative care clinicians, it’s our role to walk alongside patients and families and understand their values and goals so we can ease the physical and emotional burdens of cancer.
And integrating palliative care into usual oncology care – for people of all ages – should be the standard, not the exception. When our teams work together, we can provide people with the best possible treatment and make sure their care plan reflects what’s most important to them.
The strongest care is both effective and compassionate and I’m grateful to the ACS scientists who are shining a light on this gap and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) team members who are working to improve access so no one has to face the hardest parts of cancer alone.”
Other articles featuring Arif Kamal on OncoDaily.