A cancer diagnosis instantly triggers fears of death and the months of treatment that lie ahead. Going through surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy is by no means pleasant, but there is little question that for many, they are the most effective medical means of fighting the disease.
Yet the battle against cancer is not only waged in surgery and hospital outpatient and oncology facilities.
Cancer doesn’t only attack the body – it also lays siege to finances, families, mental health, and the patient’s dignity. It is on these fronts that palliative care – long misconstrued as a discipline reserved only for the terminally ill – is winning the war.
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, thankfully, 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.
@hospicenursejulie Palliative care explained. #hospicenursejulie #palliativecare #palliative #hospicenurse #nursetok #caregiver #learnontiktok ♬ original sound - 💕 Hospice nurse Julie 💕
Aside from providing her with delicious 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. Hanneke Lubbe, chair of the Free State chapter of the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) and CEO of Hospice Bloemfontein, says Sophia’s story is one of hundreds like it that prove palliative care is not simply an end-of-life discipline.
“There is a very big misconception about palliative care. Although palliative care includes end-of-life care, we actually get involved as soon as a life-limiting diagnosis is made,” Lubbe says. “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.”
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.
What palliative care professionals provide patients aligns with the 2026 World Cancer Day campaign, which calls for people-centred cancer care, emphasising lived experience, emotional realities, and care that adapts to each person’s unique circumstances.
World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 each year. “Palliative care teams are not multidisciplinary – they are interdisciplinary,” Lubbe explains. “In a multidisciplinary team, each professional contributes from their own perspective, often working in parallel. An interdisciplinary team goes further: the different disciplines integrate their expertise, share decision-making, and develop a unified care plan. This collaborative approach ensures that patients receive truly coordinated, whole-person support.”
“They are specialists in pain and symptom management, psychosocial support, spiritual care, family systems support, home-based clinical care and bereavement and anticipatory grief.
“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.
As Dr Sinalo Maleho, a GP at East Rand Palliative Care, points out, palliative care helps manage patients’ pain and other symptoms, especially during their treatment programme. “This 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.”
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,” says Motsoane.
“It’s also important to understand that patients don’t necessarily remain in palliative care; some transition out of it if their condition improves or their treatment becomes curative.”
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