Palliative care in head and neck cancer

Palliative care being an important modality in management of carcinoma patients, has recently emerged as a separate medical speciality. Palliative care for head & neck cancers plays a vital role in improving the quality of life of terminally ill patients. Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life of patients by alleviating the physical and psychological symptoms,not actually focusing on curative aspect of disease. Various categories under this are surgical, chemotherapeutic & radio-therapeutic palliative care, surgical having the least role. This booklet is aimed at presenting all the aspects of Palliative care in head & neck patients in a simplified and easily understandable language. It also gives description of different oral complications faced by head & neck carcinoma patients and their mangement. The booklet is supplemented with flow charts and tabulated information for easy understanding & quick referral by students and practicing clinicians. This booklet will serve as a basic guide for understanding the subject among students & a for patient management in clinical practice.