The cure palliative early and simultaneous are recommended by the World Health Organization in the presence of chronic diseases, such as blood cancer.
The experts present at an event organized on the topic by Gimemathe Foundation of the Italian group of hematological diseases’adultthey pointed out how l’early integration of palliative care leads to a significant improvement in quality and also in’life expectancy in patients.
«Early and simultaneous palliative care is an innovative therapeutic-assistance model which, by integrating the standard oncological therapeutic pathway within two months of the diagnosis of an advanced stage of the disease, improves the quality and expectancy of life» he explains Marco Vignetti, President of the Gimema Foundation. «In our country it is estimated that at least 150-180 thousand cancer patients need palliative care every year and it is probable that, due to the effect of the clinical studies conducted on the integration of early palliative care in the context of anticancer treatments, this question will see a progressive increase”.
Despite the benefits, in daily clinical practice recourse to this service is still very late, so it is necessary to provide training programs for doctors in palliative care. «Early integration of palliative care leads to a significant improvement not only in the quality of life but also in life expectancy in patients with advanced cancer» confirms Mario Luppi, Professor of the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. «In a study conducted on over two hundred patients with acute leukemia, in Modena, early palliative care intervention has been shown to reduce physical symptoms, increase awareness of the disease prognosis and treatment goals, reducing therapeutic. However, despite the benefits, recourse to this service is still very late in daily clinical practice. Hence the need to implement palliative care training programs for hematology-oncology specialists.
Even the digital technologies they can be of great support. The platform proves it Alliance, initiated by Gimema for remote clinical monitoring and timely communication between doctor and patient. «Early palliative care aims to provide more personalized assistance centered on the real needs of the individual patient within the standard therapy that the patient already follows» he underlines Fabio Effective, head of the Gimema Quality of Life Unit. «In this sense, the aid of digital health care is very important for having more precise and timely feedback on the progress of patients’ health conditions. The Alliance digital platform was a very important starting point and was very well received by the doctors who used it».
In the video.
- Marco VIGNETTI
President of the Gimema Foundation
- Mario LUPPI
Professor of the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
- Fabio EFFECTIVE
Head of the Gimema Foundation’s Quality of Life unit