Palliative care and the child with cancer

There is a growing awareness among pediatric oncologists, and a World Health Organization imperative, to incorporate the palliative care paradigm into the care of all children with cancer, irrespective of geographical location. The barriers to pediatric palliative care identified by pediatric oncologists include: lack of formal courses, a high reliance on trial and error learning, lack of strong role models, and lack of access to pain and palliative care service. These barriers must be overcome in order to provide effective palliative care for children with cancer.