The comparison of common cancer types and the coincidence of concomitant chronic diseases between palliative home care patients in Lodz Voivodeship and the general Polish population treatment of pain and other problems – physical, psy- chosocial and spiritual (WHO definition 2002). This task cannot be managed by one single profession but required a multidisciplinary team consisting of a physi- cian, nurse, psychologist, social worker, physiothera- pist and others. The system of palliative care should be based on clearly defined strategies, implementing dedicated programs in a friendly environment of the national health system and with the support of non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Poland has one of the best developed palliative care systems in Eastern Europe. Development of palliative care in Poland began in the 1970s, and was closely tied to the Catholic Church and dis- placed intellectuals [1]. In the 1990s following the political transformation and modernization of the Polish National Health Care system, palliative care began to integrate with public health systems. Analyses of the report prepared for the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety revealed that Poland was ranked fifth in palliative care development in the EU [2, 3]. Despite lower gross domestic product, Pol- ish palliative care was next to such countries as the UK, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands. With the well-known demographic changes which are tak- ing place in Poland (Table I) and increased impor- tance in providing care for the ageing population with cancer, there is observed an increase in the palliative care network development. Since 2006, the number of palliative care units in Poland which signed contracts with the National Health Fund (NHF) has increased from 352 to 415 in 2011. Finan- cial outlays issued by the NHF significantly increased from PLN 167.8 million in 2006 to PLN 291 million in 2011 [4]. Only 27 NGOs provided the pal- liative care services without a contract with the NHF in 2011. In the Polish palliative care system in 2011 there were 145 inpatient palliative units including day care units which received PLN 143 218 million and 121 palliative care outpatient units with a PLN 126.8 million budget. These designated outpatient units according to the Minister of Health regulation of August 29, 2009, apart from medical consultation may provide palliative home care services. In Poland, there were 321 palliative home care units with a PLN 126.8 million budget in 2011 [4]. The Polish palliative care system has its weak- nesses. There are still large holes in coverage in Table I. Population of Poland by age many rural areas, especially for the number of inpa- tient and outpatient palliative care units. On the other hand, particular attention should be paid to the well-developed system of palliative home care services and pediatric palliative services in Poland [4]. It is estimated that 90% of palliative care patients in Poland are those with advanced cancer. The basic form of palliative care is home care pro- vided by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a physician, nurse, psychologist, social worker and physiotherapist. Although patients are eligible for family doctor’s and specialists’ consultations, it is a hospice physician that usually provides care by visiting these patients, mainly due to low mobility of the palliative care patient and complex treat- ment required. The aim of the study was to identify common cancer types in the studied population admitted to the palliative home care units and compare their incidence to the Polish National Cancer Registry. The second aim of the study was to identify com- mon chronic concomitant diseases in patients with advanced cancer disease and to compare their inci- dence to the general Polish population. Material and methods The study involved 543 patients with advanced cancer disease, consecutively admitted between 2005 and 2009 to the palliative home care unit for longer than 7 days in Lodz Voivodeship. In the study group the occurrence of the following comorbidi- ties was analysed: arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, chronic pulmonary diseases and central nervous system diseases. The incidence of the comorbidities was analysed and compared to the data of the Central Statistical Office in Poland in 2009 [5]. The Central Statistical Office carried out an Environmental Health Information Service (EHIS) survey in accordance with Eurostat recommenda- tions regarding the thematic scope and applied research tools. The authors of the report, which included algorithms of sample selection, calculat- ing weights and precision, were employees of the Methodology, Standards and Registers Division, and the software was developed in the Statistical Com- puting Centre. Moreover, wherever possible we used data available from nationwide epidemiological studies such as the WOBASZ study [6], PMSEAD study [7] and BOLD study [8]. Year Total population [000] 65 years and more [000] 65 years and more [%] Arch Med Sci 3, June / 2012 1980 35 735 3589 10 1990 38 073 3887 10.2 2000 38 254 4726 12.4 2010 38 200 5185 13.6 2020 37 830 6954 18.4 2030 36 796 8195 22.3 497