ABSTRACT
<b>Introduction</b>: We perform our trials in Tsurumi ward, Yokohama city aiming at reducing the number of “cancer refugees” to zero. <b>State</b>: There are many patients who receive cancer therapy outside their hometown. Once their treatment is finished due to progressive disease or deteriorating condition, they are told to leave the hospital and to get palliative care in their district. And they become so-called “cancer refugees”. The beds of palliative care units are limited so the ability to accept patients in case of emergencies is poor. In Tsurumi ward, here are a lot of home care clinics providing palliative care but the place patients want to be or receive palliative care when their condition deteriorates isn't fixed. We organized the “Tsurumi Homecare Network” as the core of medical cooperation, and have worked on improving palliative care and increasing patients who die at home. Specifically, our hospital has played a central role as a special place for palliative care, we send out our original questionnaire to home care clinics to find out how they perform palliative care and introduce patients to the appropriate clinic. Patients who are in need of hospitalization are assured acceptance. On the other hand, we propose the cancer treatment hospitals to follow their patients together with us from their early stage of cancer treatment. <b>Problem</b>: To maintain a good relationship for regional palliative care, improving the management for outpatients, strict and timely backup system, advanced quality of homecare-supporting staff for palliative care and cooperation between home care clinic doctors are necessary.