Evaluating Patient Opinions on Palliative Care in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND Palliative care (PC) improves quality of life and goal-concordant care for patients with lung cancer, and reduces end-of-life costs and hospital length of stay yet it remains underutilized. Despite guidelines advocating early integration, PC is infrequently offered to surgical patients. Surgeons can offer PC as supportive care that complements surgical treatment and promotes patient-centered outcomes. This study evaluates awareness, understanding, and willingness to engage with PC among surgical non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. METHODS Patients with NSCLC who had undergone surgical resection at a single center completed a survey during postoperative surveillance assessing awareness, understanding, willingness to engage, and advance care planning. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from medical records. Responses were summarized descriptively. RESULTS Among 49 patients (mean age 72 years, 69% female, 97.9% with known Stage I-II disease), 57% had heard of PC; none were actively receiving PC services. Among those aware, 50% reported minimal understanding. Despite limited awareness, 72% would be interested in PC if recommended at diagnosis, and 70% would accept consultation if recommended today. Many had completed a medical power of attorney (67%) or advance directive (64%). Ten percent self-reported postoperative complications, none of whom were offered PC referral. However, 73% would pursue PC consultation if faced with a major complication. CONCLUSIONS Awareness of PC among early-stage surgical NSCLC patients is limited, but willingness to engage is high if recommended by the patient's surgeon, underscoring the surgeon's key role in early integration of supportive PC.