Waller and Caroline, in the excellent Handbook of Palliative Care in Cancer which was published in 1996, have said it so well:
"In summary, the task of the palliative care team is to see the patient and family through the physical and emotional stages of terminal illness and to ease the burden along the way - to walk alongside, not to give orders from above, to be there when symptoms arise, when hard questions have to be faced, when fear and loneliness threaten: to apply to the care of the dying the same high standards of clinical analysis and decision making as are demanded in the care of patients expected to get well." (2)
REFERENCES:
1 WHO Expert Committee. Cancer Pain Relief and Palliative Care.
Geneva: World Health Organization, 1990, p. 11
2 Waller A, Caroline NL. Handbook of Palliative Care in Cancer. Boston:
