Dr. Kapo on Addressing Palliative Care With Patients

Jennifer M. Kapo, MD, chief, palliative medicine, Yale Cancer Center, associate professor of medicine (medical oncology and geriatrics), Yale School of Medicine, discusses how oncologists can address palliative care with their patients.

Palliative care is a difficult topic for oncologists to discuss for fear of upsetting patients or causing them to lose hope, Kapo explains. A palliative care team assists oncologists in having this type of conversation in a gentle way.

Data show that patients and family members desire both positive and negative sides regarding a diagnosis, and that they feel less uncertain and/or scared through honest and clear communication from their oncologists.

Kapo adds palliative care should not be defined as the last resource for a patient because there are no further treatments or resources for them, but as a team that collaborates with oncologists to support them while having these discussions with patients. They are also available to support patients and their families.