to the United States (1963), in a lecture at Yale University, CicelySaunders proposed to establish a center for nursing and caring for incurable patients. After this speech, the hospice movement expanded in other countries, including the UK. Gradually, governments and health insurance companies figured out the importance of these centers and approved necessary funds for the development of these services.\[[@ref13]\]

The concept of palliative care in Malaysia has been a result of influence of the West, in particular, Britain, on this country. At first, palliative care was not easily accepted. Despite this disapproval, several Malaysian health authorities took measures to improve the quality of life in advanced cancer patients. In late 1991, the first Hospice At Home Program began in the Pena Hospice Malaysia ng Cancer Society. At theinequalities in cancer treatment, throughout the UK, a cancer expert group was founded at the Ministry of Health to provide grounds for the development of a cancer service organization in the UK and Wales. In 1995, the group published its report under the name of Calman--Hine report.\[[@ref17]\] This report proved the need for specialized palliative care teams and provided a framework for policy-making and the development of cancer services. In 2004, the health scope changed in the UK. The National Council for Hospice and Palliative Care Services, established in 1991, was renamed the National Council for Palliative Care to cover all patients in need of such services.\[[@ref18]\]

In March 1993, palliative care was provided throughout the South China Sea in the State of Sabah as a homecare program, by