Would You Refer This Patient With Cancer to a Palliative Care Specialist?: Grand Rounds Discussion From Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

In 2016, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published a guideline recommending that all patients with advanced cancer be referred to palliative care providers. This recommendation was based on a series of trials showing that palliative care, when added to standard oncology treatment, improves outcomes, including quality of life. Here, 2 oncologists, 1 of whom is also a palliative care specialist, debate the guideline and discuss how best to care for a 71-year-old woman with metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma who has a short life expectancy but feels well and has no symptoms related to her cancer or chemotherapy.