Palliative treatment

Palliative cancer treatment

Medical treatment is a key part of palliative care. It aims to manage the symptoms of cancer without trying to cure the disease. The treatment you are offered will depend on your individual needs, what type of cancer you have, how far it has spread, your symptoms, any other health issues and the support you have.

Some examples of palliative treatment include:

• radiation therapy to reduce pain (e.g. if cancer has spread to the bones, or a tumour is pressing on nerves or organs)
• chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy to stop the cancer growing into other organs
• surgery to reduce tumours causing pain or other symptoms
• medicines to control symptoms and relieve discomfort.

Learn about the cancer treatments that can be used palliatively. Let your healthcare team know about any side effects that you may have so that they can be managed.

Making treatment decisions

You have the right to say no to any treatment recommended, but your medical team needs to be sure that you understand what treatments you’ve been offered, and how not having a treatment may affect your prognosis, symptoms and quality of life.

You can ask questions about treatments and what side effects or “trade-offs” these may have. It might be important for you to know about recovery times, length of hospital stay or physical benefits or risks. You may want to ask what to expect if you don’t have treatment.

Bring a friend or family member to appointments to help you make decisions and use this question checklist as a guide.

You do not have to accept treatments on an all-or-nothing basis – you can refuse some and accept others. You can try a medicine to see if it helps you and talk to your doctor about whether to continue. Treatments can cause significant side effects, and some people choose not to have active treatment but to focus on controlling their symptoms to reduce pain and discomfort. If you’re thinking of stopping treatment, it’s a good idea to talk to your treatment team or GP about what might happen. You may also want to discuss your decision with family and friends, or call Cancer Connect on 13 11 20.

Types of palliative cancer treatments

Surgery

Surgery can be used to:

• remove all or part of a tumour from affected areas, such as the bowel or lymph nodes
• relieve discomfort caused by tumours blocking organs or pressing on nerves
• reduce tumour size (debulking) to help improve outcomes from chemotherapy and radiation therapy
• insert a thin tube (stent) into a blocked organ to create a passage for substances to pass through.

Drug therapies

Drugs can travel throughout the body. This is called systemic treatment.

Drug therapies, used by themselves or in combination, include:

• chemotherapy – the use of drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells
• hormone therapy – drugs that stop the body’s natural hormones from helping some cancers to grow
• immunotherapy – treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer
• targeted therapy – drugs that target specific features of cancer cells to stop the cancer growing.

Some drug therapies can reduce a cancer that is causing pain because of its size or location; slow the growth of a cancer; and help control symptoms, including pain and loss of appetite. Other drug therapies can reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms such as bone pain.

Radiation therapy

A controlled dose of radiation used to kill or damage cancer cells so they cannot grow, multiply or spread. Radiation therapy can shrink tumours or stop them spreading. It can also relieve symptoms such as pain from secondary bone cancer. You can have radiation therapy in different ways and doses. It can be given in single or multiple visits.

Complementary and alternative therapies

People often use the terms “complementary” and “alternative” as though they mean the same thing, but it is important to understand how they are different.

Complementary therapies are widely used alongside conventional medical treatments, usually to help manage side effects of cancer or its treatment. Therapies such as meditation, massage and acupuncture may increase your sense of control, decrease stress and anxiety, and improve your mood.

Alternative therapies are used instead of conventional medical treatments. Many alternative therapies have not been scientifically tested, so there is no evidence that they stop cancer growing or spreading. Others have been tested and shown to be harmful to people with cancer or not to work. Cancer Council does not recommend the use of alternative therapies as a cancer treatment.

Let your doctors know about any therapies you are using or thinking about trying, as some may not be safe or evidence-based, or may not work well with your current treatment.