Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
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Cancer patients often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), yet discussion with the oncologist is often missing and oncologists lack knowledge in CAM. ⋯ As a substantial part of participants would use CAM on cancer patients and most are interested in but not trained on this topic, there is a need for training of professionals from different professions working in oncology.
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This article introduces palliative care to cancer patients in Middle Eastern countries. It considers the importance of the multidisciplinary team in providing an adequate service to the patient and his/her family. It provides views of professionals from the various countries with regard to the role of the nurse in such teams; whereby the three elements of palliative care nursing entail: 1. ⋯ Working with other health and social care professionals to network and co-ordinate services; and 3. working at an organizational level to plan, develop and manage service provision in local, regional and national settings. This article also details the challenges that nurses face in the Middle East and outlines the preferable ways to overcome such challenges. The latter include more focused educational activities at the undergraduate and graduate levels and continuous clinical training throughout their work as palliative care nurse specialists.