Homecare in a radiation oncology service: psychological, ethical and organizational aspects of the Unità di Cura Continuativa "A. Romanini".

The experience with a model of homecare provided to oncologic patients and their families, implemented in a Radiation Oncology service, is reported. The requirements in terms of care and psychological support to terminally ill patients are considered and the global needs of their families are analyzed. To address the related complex problems, a new organizational model was designed to integrate healthcare providers expert in different fields who are dealing with those problems.

Organ preservation and quality of life: the quality of life of patients undergoing radiation therapy.

In the definition of quality of life (QL) conventional medical indicators (rate of cure, disease-free survival, side-effects, costs) should be combined with those of the patient's personality the impact of the disease, the level of satisfaction, the general health conditions. This assessment being complex, obviously needs an integration of competences for correct decision making in diagnosis and treatment. In oncology, numerous attempts have been made towards the systematization of toxicity in radiotherapy based on physical and functional rather than multidimensional criteria. However the categorization of possible side-effects according to scoring systems already marks an improvement towards the quality assurance of care and thus the patient's quality of life.