Surgery in palliative care
==========================

* Graeme Rocker
* Daren Heyland

*   © 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

Alexandra Easson correctly points out that many initiatives in end-of-life and palliative care are in progress across Canada. We are delighted that physicians in the surgical specialties are addressing the needs of their dying patients and hope that the leaders in this field will remain significant contributors to the future of end-of-life and palliative care in Canada for all patients.

One theme of the recent multidisciplinary meeting to assess research into palliative and end-of-life care in Canada, sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and described in our recent commentary,1 concerned the needs of noncancer patients. These patients face the prospect of a protracted but unpredictable course in the last stages of their illness. Since the publication of our commentary, we have been contacted by rural general practitioners, generalists, palliative care physicians and specialists from many backgrounds, a clear reflection of their involvement in the care of these patients, and we sincerely thank them for their interest.

**Graeme Rocker** Department of Medicine Dalhouse University Halifax, NS **Daren Heyland** Department of Medicine Queen's University Kingston, Ont.

## Reference

1.  1. Rocker G, Heyland D. New research initiatives in Canada for end-of-life and palliative care [editorial]. CMAJ 2003;169(4):300-1.
    
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