Description

Advanced cancer is a life-limiting condition that can negatively impact function, quality of life and exerts an excessive strain on caregivers. In Singapore, up to 60% of cancer patients suffer from advanced (stage 3 or 4) cancer at diagnosis and are recipients of resource-intensive and costly life-prolonging treatments including surgery, chemo-, radiation therapy, among others. In fact, approximately 80% of patients with advanced cancer undergo major surgery at some point of their cancer journey. Given their life-limiting cancer, these patients suffer from physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and decision-making issues that can arise near end-of-life. As such, most would benefit from basic palliative care (PC). This includes establishing goals of care through serious illness conversations (SIC), managing basic pain and other symptoms, and addressing psychosocial needs, among others. As they are often recipients of concurrent intensive multi-modality cancer treatments, patients with advanced cancer are also at higher risk of functional decline, and are ten times more likely to experience morbidity or mortality and have a six-fold increase in risks of 30-day emergency readmissions after major surgery as compared to patients without advanced disease. Yet, among patients with advanced cancer undergoing major surgery, there has been little consideration of PC and functional needs, leading to overall poor quality of life.

Palliative surgical care model is a care model in which PC educated surgical oncology teams deliver basic PC, allowing sustainable PC provision to an increasing number of patients diagnosed and living with advanced cancer. In a local pilot palliative surgical care model, it was found that longitudinal PC (as opposed to during the peri-operative period only) and functional needs during the advanced cancer journey were not well-addressed. Additionally, surgeon-led palliative surgical care was not feasible due to time constraints and competing clinical demands. However, it was found that a care coach-led palliative surgical oncology (PSO) care model significantly increased palliative care delivery, ensuring more consistent and comprehensive support for patients. Cancer rehabilitation delivered by rehabilitation professionals addresses functional impairments during the cancer journey and aims to restore and maintain function and improve quality of life. It plays a preventive role before surgery, restorative during adjuvant treatments, and is supportive during cancer progression.

To address longitudinal PC and functional needs, the investigators propose an integrated care coach-led palliative surgical oncology rehabilitation (PSO+R) care model involving PC-trained care coaches, surgical oncology teams, rehabilitation professionals, supported by specialist palliative care (SPC) physicians who will provide PC and cancer rehabilitation throughout the advanced cancer journey. Care coach-led PSO comprises of care coaches who will screen for PC needs, provide basic PC, and trigger referrals to SPC and surgical team when complex needs arise. The cancer rehabilitation team will screen for functional needs and institute tailored interventions. PSO+R care will be implemented before and up to 1 year after surgery. In contrast, usual care, though surgeons may be trained in PC, they are not supported by care coaches nor cancer rehabilitation or SPC teams. They provide standard peri-operative only care without consideration of the unique needs in advanced cancer. The objective of this proposal is to test the incremental effectiveness of care coach-led PSO+R vs PSO only vs usual care in improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL), functional capacity, and PC delivery and determine the cost-effectiveness of PSO+R over the next most costly intervention, among advanced cancer patients undergoing major surgery. To evaluate its effectiveness, the investigators conduct a 3-arm randomized controlled trial comparing outcomes at 6 months in patients receiving PSO+R vs PSO only vs usual care.