So far, there has been little research into supportive care needs in patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer and as their disease progresses. That is why experts from the German Cancer Society’s working group on palliative medicine, led by Professor Florian Lordick, Director of the University Cancer Center Leipzig (UCCL), surveyed 500 patients between the ages of 25 and 89. What made the project special was the fact that the patients were accompanied from the moment they were diagnosed and before receiving any treatment. Professor Lordick sums it up thus: “There is an urgent need for patients to have early access to supportive palliative care for a wide range of issues, including psychosocial support.” Palliative care is not about healing, but about maintaining quality of life, relieving pain, treating other physical ailments and problems of a psychosocial and spiritual nature.