Why palliative professionals are the hidden specialists in cancer care

Hanneke Lubbe

Speaking ahead of World of World Cancer Day on 4 February, Hanneke Lubbe, chair of the Free State chapter of the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) and CEO of Hospice Bloemfontein, says there is a very big misconception about palliative care.

Although it includes end-of-life care, palliative care professions get involved as soon as a life-limiting diagnosis is made. “We know a life-changing diagnosis needs more than just simple, normal care. It’s not just the patient; it also affects the people around them. They all need to come to terms with how to deal with this life-changing moment and journey,” Lubbe says.

A palliative interdisciplinary team integrates their expertise, share decision-making, and develop a unified care plan once a patient is referred. This collaborative approach ensures that patients receive truly coordinated, whole-person support.

“Palliative care professionals are specialists in pain and symptom management, psychosocial support, spiritual care, family systems support, home-based clinical care and bereavement and anticipatory grief,” Lubbe explains. “They also know how to negotiate South Africa’s fragmented health systems and are equipped with the requisite skills for trauma-informed communication and paediatric palliative care.”

By tackling everything from food insecurity to providing counselling and emotional support, family support, home-based care, support for caregivers and culturally and language-aligned psychosocial care, the interdisciplinary specialist disciplines that fall within palliative care quietly hold patients and families together.

According to statistics provided by 36 APCC members, so far in 2026, these centres are offering care to a combined total of 1,920 cancer patients and 8,076 family members. Should the pattern follow that of 2024 and 2025, more than 4,000 patients and over 17,000 family members will have sought assistance from these facilities by year-end.

Lubbe details Sophia’s story as one of hundreds like it that prove palliative care is not simply an end-of-life discipline: At the time of her diagnosis, cancer survivor Sophia felt helpless and alone. She had been going through a stressful divorce while at the same time was responsible for taking care of her elderly mother.

She was desperate for advice, and her neighbour pointed her in the direction of Helderberg Hospice in the Western Cape. Sophia was admitted to the 24-hour Intermediate Care Facility for pain and wound care management. Though she felt embarrassed and unsure of what to expect, the kindness of the nurses and the provision of new pyjamas immediately gave her a sense of dignity and reassurance.

Aside from providing her with restaurant-quality meals, the team at Helderberg Hospice also assisted her with arranging temporary care for her mother while she was at the facility. In addition, her social worker assigned her to a support group, which provided a community of people who truly understood what she was going through and helped her at both the practical and emotional levels.

Sophia says this experience enabled her to feel seen and heard, respected and valued.

APCC CEO Motlalentoa Motsoane hopes to see more medical professionals referring patients for palliative care soon after a diagnosis of a life-threatening disease is made: “Medical treatment and palliative care should be seen as working hand in hand. While surgery and chemotherapy focus on treating the disease, palliative care supports patients from the point of diagnosis with expert symptom and pain management, as well as psychological, social, and spiritual care,” Motsoane says.

Dr Sinalo Maleho, a GP at East Rand Palliative Care, adds that palliative care helps patients’ during their treatment programme: “Palliative care can help them fight the disease more effectively. Studies show those who receive palliative care live longer and have a higher quality of life than those who do not receive it.”