Hospice care developed in part as a reaction to the impersonal and tec
hnology-dependent end-of-life care offered by modern medicine. Unique
approaches to care that emphasize interdisciplinary team management of
troublesome symptoms and the promotion of quality of life as defined
by the patient, are finding their way into all aspects of health care.
Symptom control measures have expanded to include chemotherapy, radia
tion therapy, and multimodal therapies. Both the development of a uniq
ue knowledge base and advances in research have fostered the integrati
on of hospice and palliative care into mainstream medicine.