Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology is based at Indiana University School of Medicine and IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center from which its international reach extends.

The aim of Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology work is to advance global palliative care and supportive oncology through policy, research, education and practice for the relief of pain and suffering worldwide.

Key collaborations, strategic partnerships and the principle of balance are crucial to our work. The ultimate aim of these collective efforts is to ensure palliative care and supportive oncology policies are developed in a way that translates into evidence-based research to inform best practice to alleviate the pain and suffering that millions of patients and caregivers worldwide experience.

Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology work engages a 3-pronged approach to accomplish these aims:

Advancing Collaboratively

The work of Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology is rooted in the legacy of the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center in Pain Policy & Palliative Care and a global research program formerly based at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. For over two decades, PPSG worked passionately to fulfill its mission of improving pain relief by achieving balanced access to essential palliative care medicines worldwide.

Based on the legacy of the PPSG and with team members who were part of PPSG’s historic efforts, Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology broadens the mission and extends this work with key multilateral organizations plus key regional and local partners across multiple domains that affect access and availability to palliative and WHO-identified designated essential medicines.

• The heart of our work is collaborative.
• The focus is on positive change through empowering, equipping and emboldening.
• The impetus is to soften the suffering of cancer patients and others who face life-threatening illnesses.
• Walther Global Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology is eager to collaborate with like-minded change agents, institutions, organizations, communities and individuals for the relief of pain and suffering locally and around the globe.