About Palliative Care Internal Medicine

Information on clinical department

A cancer diagnosis can be depressing. Also, when you are diagnosed, you may already have symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath.
Palliative care starts from the time you are diagnosed with cancer in parallel with treatment for such depression and physical symptoms.
Palliative care does not start after the cancer has advanced.
Along with cancer treatment, you can receive it whenever you feel pain. Care is also provided for family members.

Palliative care outpatient

Content of medical treatment

The palliative care outpatient clinic at our hospital is intended for those who need control of painful symptoms. In cooperation with the attending physician, we provide care to relieve physical and mental pain and distress while treating cancer.
In the palliative care outpatient clinic, doctors and Registered Nurse will meet with you to discuss your symptoms and concerns, and adjust medications and provide lifestyle support. Depending on the patient's situation, the palliative care team, including Pharmacist, registered Clinical Dietitian, MSWs (medical Social Worker), and certified psychologists, will intervene.

About consultation

• If you are visiting our hospital and wish to see a doctor, please consult with your doctor or outpatient Registered Nurse.
• For patients who have not visited our hospital, a referral letter and test results are required. It will be a medical examination via the medical institution that is being examined or was consulted. If inpatient treatment is required, our hospital does not have a palliative care ward, and in principle, hospitalization for the purpose of palliative care is not possible. However, if an emergency hospitalization is required, it will be dealt with by the relevant clinical department within the hospital. In addition, we will strive to provide hospitalization consultations at local collaborative medical institutions (Heiwa Hospital, Saiseikai Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital, etc.) that have palliative care units.
• Nerve blocks (epidural/peripheral nerve blocks, etc.) are performed when necessary (in-hospital or affiliated medical institutions: Kawahara Orthopedic Surgery Pain Clinic Surgery, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, etc.)
• If necessary, palliative irradiation will be performed in the hospital.

To the teacher who introduces

• The palliative care outpatient clinic of our hospital is not limited to cancer patients at our own facility as a regional Cancer Medical Cooperation Hub Hospital, but from December 2022, patients who are receiving or have received cancer treatment at other facilities. We welcome your introduction.
• A multidisciplinary palliative care team consisting of doctors, Registered Nurse, Pharmacist, etc. is in charge of alleviating various symptoms that doctors are concerned about, including intractable pain and dyspnea.
• Please note that the work of the palliative care team is, in principle, an outpatient consultation type, and will only provide medical support (suggestion of palliative measures, etc.) for the doctors who have been introduced.
• Our hospital does not have a palliative care ward and does not accept hospitalization. Except for emergency hospitalization, if hospitalization is necessary, after consulting with the referral doctor, we will make a request to a collaborating medical institution (Heiwa Hospital, Saiseikai Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital, etc.) in the area with a palliative care ward.
• If radiotherapy (palliative irradiation) is necessary, we will try to implement it in the hospital at the hospital or outpatient Radiation Oncology.
• Regarding nerve blocks, a cooperative system has been established to request local specialized medical institutions (Kawahara Orthopedic Surgery Pain Clinic Surgery, Showa University Yokohama City Northern Hospital, etc.).

​Click here for the palliative care outpatient application form

Staff introduction