Abstract
Medical care for terminal cancer patients has been discussed using such vague expressions as terminal care, hospice care and palliative care. The word "terminal care" is frequently used in Japan, This word gives a very passive and negative image to care of the dying, in which the patient's family and medical personnel give psychological and physical care to the patients, who is going to die. In other words, "terminal care" is, in a sense, a metaphor for "anti-ordinary, anti-normal medical care." Contrary to this, a new concept called "palliative care" has appeared recently in cancer therapy. Palliative care is a realistic, medical, sociopsychological and behavioral-science approach which improves the quality of life (QOL) of patients in cancer therapy from the progressive to terminal stage of cancer. The word "Palliative" does not simply mean "alleviation of symptoms, " it also has a broader meaning of "alleviation of holistic problems." Concretely speaking, palliative care aims at (1) prolonging life, (2) relieving the symptoms and (3) placing a high value on the QOL. Hospice care showed independent progress in the past, but it is now considered to have the same meaning as palliative care as a result of the common ground of the concept of the QOL. However, due to the historical background, the word "hospice care" has a more symbolic sound, while "palliative care" indicates actual, concrete medical care. It should be emphasized that palliative care is medical care which places a high value on the QOL of patients and that it consists of academic activities based on the tenets of medical science and social science.
