Palliative Care in Iran: Moving Toward the Development of Palliative Care for Cancer

Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran and its incidence has been increasing in recent years. Patients' quality of life is altered rather enormously due to cancer, which doubles the importance of and the need for providing palliative care in Iran. Although many steps have been taken toward the development and providing of palliative care in Iran, there is still a large gap between the status quo and the desirable state. This study presents the current state of palliative care for cancer patients and discusses the barriers, challenges and outlook of palliative care in Iran. If infrastructural projects that have recently been launched prove successful, proper advancement toward the providing of palliative care services in Iran will then not far on the horizon.