The term "palliative care" may be used generally to refer to any care that alleviates symptoms, whether or not there is hope of a cure by other means; thus a recent WHO statement[1] calls palliative care "an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness." Palliative treatments may also be used to alleviate the side effects of curative treatments, such as relieving the nausea associated with chemotherapy.