A policy framework for commissioning cancer services
Year: 1995
Type: editorial
Abstract: Hippocrates cannot have been overconfident about the provision of care for patients with cancer. In one of his aphorisms he pointed out that patients with internal cancers who were treated survived a shorter time than those who were left alone. Some 25 centuries later informed voices have decried Britain's cancer services, some likening progress through them to the vagaries of the lottery. While this analogy is overly pessimistic, the failure of health planners to respond to the improved understanding and treatment of cancers has more than justified much of the recent criticism.
Many doctors also remain ignorant of what is achievable with good cancer care, which is hardly surprising, given the low …
Source: BMJ
Author: Michael Whitehouse
Institution: Southampton General Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2089584208