Psycho-Oncology

End-of-life care is a humanistic approach that aims to deliver a quality of life for patients and families facing life-limiting advanced medical illnesses in clinical practices. It demands a holistic assessment through multidisciplinary team interventions to effectively encounter the patient's psychological sufferings, social isolation, and mental disharmony. However, end-of-life care is still an unheard area of care in most parts of the Indian subcontinent. The healthcare systems in most of the developed countries were at an advanced stage of delivering 'good death' in the face of painful, life-threatening medical illness. The goal of end-of-life care is not to shorten or prolong the patient's life, but to focus on alleviating pain and improving quality of life. Yet, 80% of the terminally ill patients in India failed to receive end-of-life care. Effective implementation of plans and policies, maximum availability of essential medications, and public awareness are the current challenges in Indian palliative end-of-life care.