The importance of supportive care for patients with cancer: supportive care encompasses managing symptoms and side effects before, during and after cancer treatment

Abstract

Supportive care involves the management of the symptoms of cancer and the side effects of treatment across the whole course of cancer, from diagnosis through treatment to survivorship and end-of-life care. Cancer requires multimodality treatment, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, each of which can be used to palliate symptoms but may also have adverse effects that need managing. Likewise, supportive care needs multidisciplinary team support, including cancer specialist clinicians, nurses, pharmacists and allied health practitioners in addition to palliative care practitioners.