In the United Kingdom eligibility for attendance allowance may be immediately available in the exceptional circumstance of cancer with a short terminal prognosis of less than six months. For some patients, especially those with rectal tumours, the diagnosis of cancer is also accompanied by the necessity for either colostomy or ileostomy. Such patients will often require further specialised support, and liaison between the primary care team and specialist stoma nurses is important. As the disease progresses, management will shift towards palliative care. Ideally, this would be delivered jointly by the primary care team and specialist palliative care services, such as those based at a hospice or provided by Macmillan nurses.
Few data exist to guide on the most effective models for palliative care in colorectal cancer.
However, non.randomised studies have shown high satisfaction among patients when they are kept fully involved in understanding the progression of their disease and their treatment options, when shared care cards are used, and when home care teams are provided. The main priorities in palliative care in colorectal cancer include the management of pain, jaundice, ascites, constipation, and nausea. Full explanations of signs such as jaundice are likely to be reassuring. In the United Kingdom only a minority of patients with colorectal cancer currently die from their disease in hospital or in a hospice. Curless R, French J, Williams G, James O. Comparison of gastro.intestinal symptoms in colorectal carcinoma patients and community control to the respect of age.