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Germany
Supportive care in cancer around the globe
German group for supportive care in oncology, rehabilitation and social medicine in oncolog (ASORS)
 German Expert Workshop January, 2008
“ Bridging the Gaps between Supportive Care, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care”
The Supportive Care Group in the German Cancer Society:
Arbeitskreis Supportive Maßnahmen in der Onkologie (ASO)
: Arbeitskreis Supportive Maßnahmen in der Onkologie (ASO) ASO was founded in 1996 during the 12th German Cancer Congress and the current ASO president, Prof. Petra Feyer from Berlin, was one of the founding members. Co-chairs of ASO are Prof. Dr. Carsten Bokemeyer, Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Link, Kaiserslautern and Dr. Petra Ortner, Munich. Today the association has 60 members from various disciplines involved in diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation of tumour patients. ASO builds the bridge between the German Cancer Society (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft, DKG) and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). Like MASCC, ASO is organised in different working groups such as emesis, growth factors, quality of life, nutrition and various others. The main objectives of ASO are to improve the quality of life of tumour patients by investigation of supportive care measures and to translate supportive care research results into clinical practice and make these findings also available to the public. The ASO has a multidisciplinary structure and connects different professions like physicians of different medical disciplines, psycho-oncologists, pharmacists, dieticians and care-givers. All these are working together in their respective field of research focussing on the management and prevention of side effects of tumour therapy and of tumour related symptoms.
ASO regards as one of its main task to spread evidence-based guidelines and consensus-based recommendations of international societies in oncology and to adjust them to German conditions by developing practical recommendations for therapy. To that end, members of the ASO board try to raise public awareness and participate in national and international committees. Another focus is continuing education in the form of publications, books, congresses, symposiums, seminars and regional educational courses.
Since its foundation the ASO has organised numerous activities and has thus made supportive care accessible to a broad public in Germany, both physicians and laity.
From the ASO perspective, supportive care has to be considered an integral part of tumor therapy and must be taken in respect from the beginning of planning the therapy. The supportive care measures taken should be tailored to the individual patient`s needs and situation but comply with current guidelines, and if such are not available yet, consensus statements or evidence based publications.
For more detailed information please visit the German ASO website at www.onkosupport.de.
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