As medical oncologists specializing in palliative care in a Comprehensive Cancer Center, we face several enormous challenges. First, the care of our patients requires fundamental understanding of basic principles of cancer care – including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, family dynamics, ethics, etc. Moreover, we must have fundamental knowledge about the natural history, biology, and treatment of the patient's individual cancer. Finally, we need to be able to recognize and manage common syndromes and scenarios that can influence the quality of life and possibly the length of life for the advanced cancer patient. As we peruse our bookshelves and libraries, there are many wonderful references to assist us in this difficult quest. There are major textbooks of oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, nursing, internal medicine, pain, and palliative medicine. There are also smaller handbooks of cancer chemotherapy or palliative care with shorter chapters. Of course, there are drawers full of sentinel articles and our favorite review articles as well.

In the United States alone, there are more than half a million patients living with and subsequently dying from advanced cancer each year. The healthcare workforce caring for these patients is obviously not limited to cancer specialists and palliative care experts. A significant portion of the care provided to advanced cancer patients is delivered by physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and students who have only limited training and experience in cancer care and/or palliative medicine.