The Need of Palliative Care for the Patients in The Age Group 0-18 and an Analysis of the Practices

It is seen that the cancer mortality and morbidity is increasing among the children all around the world. Each year, more than 500.000 children need to deal with serious health problems. But lately, with the innovations in the medicine and technology, children with cancer have longer lifetimes. The increase in the incidence of cancer and the lifetimes of the children with cancer has increased the importance of the children rights and the palliative care and the need for this care. Palliative care is different for the age group 0-18 than it is for the adults. In each group, the objectives of the palliative care are the same but the care and treatment needs are different. It is difficult to determine how the children will react to the treatment since their physical, emotional and cognitive development is still going on, and this period also changes their understandings on the illness and death. Children need a special kind of palliative care that consists their schools, friends at school and their other social environments. It must be known that each child has the right to receive palliative care, the medicines and complementary treatment methods for their pain and other symptoms regardless of their families’ financial capabilities. Children should not be kept in the adult care units and their parents should be informed and helped so that they can stay with their children. Each family should have the opportunity of having a complementary pediatric palliative care group at their homes, which consists a nurse, pediatrician, social works expert, psychologist and a religion officer.