Title
Integration of palliative care in the management of oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors
Sridhar Republica1, Etimad Huwait 2,3, Peter Natesan Pushparaj4,5 & Gauthaman Kalamegam 1,5*
Affiliation
1RMD Specialities Hospital and RMD Academy for Health, A Unit of RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust, Chennai, India; 2King Abdulaziz Univ, Fac Sci, Dept Biochem, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; 3King Abdulaziz Univ, King Fahad Med Res Ctr, Expt Biochem Unit, Cell Culture Lab, Jeddah 22252, Saudi Arabia; 4Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research, and Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah 22252; 5Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai 600077, India. Pharmaceutical Division, Nibblen Life Sciences Private Limited, Chennai 600061, India; *Corresponding author
Republica Sridhar - E-mail: rmd.rmd1970@gmail.com
Etimad Huwait – Email: etimad.huwait@gmail.com
Peter Natesan Pushparaj - Email: peter.n.pushparaj@gmail.com
Gauthaman Kalamegam - Email: gauthamank.sdc@saveetha.com; rmdacademyforhealth2019@gmail.com; Phone: +919551572736
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received January 1, 2023; Revised January 30, 2023; Accepted January 31, 2023, Published January 31, 2023
Abstract
Oral Squamous cell Cancers (OSCC) is strongly associated with tobacco consumption. We here in present a case study of a OSCC patient who refused standard oncological care (SOC), to highlight the importance of integrating palliative care (PC) for improved patient outcomes. A 61 years male patient, with history of chewing tobacco for more than 20 years and diagnosed to have OSCC for 1.5 years presented with severe anaemia and a cauliflower-like growth (12 x 10 cm) in the left oral cavity and cheek with greenish-yellow discharge. Pus culture was positive for K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. Patient is also a known hypertensive for 15 years and a diabetic for 7 years on allopathic treatment. However, the patient refused SOC for oral cancer and relied on siddha treatment. Packed cell transfusions were given to correct anaemia and the blood glucose levels was kept under control. Frequent wound debridement, oral care, antibiotics, balanced-diet and hydration improved wound-bed granulation. Patient and family members were counselled and explained in detail on the need for SOC by sharing previous OSCC patients’ care and outcomes at our centre. Patient gained trust and courage and agreed for chemotherapy, which reduced the disease burden and improved the quality of life (QoL) considerably. Therefore, PC integration at an early stage of treatment is imperative as it reduced (i) the burden of secondary infection, (ii) pain and distress, and (iii) improved the QoL.
Keywords
Oral Squamous cell Cancers; Standard oncological care; Palliative Care; Multi-disciplinary team; Holistic care
Citation
Republica et al. Bioinformation 19(1): 1-4 (2023)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
