Objectives:
The aim of the study is to assess paramedics attending to oncological patients aged over 45, based on hospital data from the Independent Public Health Unit in Sanok during 2012–2015.

Material and methods:
There were 402 individual patient records in which cancer was the main cause of danger to health and ambulance departures. In order to analyse results, Excel spreadsheets were used as well as Statistica PL 12 software. Statistical analysis was performed using the χ2 test, Mann-Whitney’s U test, and Shapiro-Wilk test. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results:
The analysed data showed that the number of emergency departures to oncological patients is still increasing. According to the statistical data, first priority interventions were associated with a higher percentage of deaths (12.2%). Specialized teams more often than basic teams left patients at the site of event (33% vs. 18%). They also more often confirmed patient’s death (14.5% vs. 3.6%). It was observed that in teams where a doctor was present, medical emergency interventions lasted for a shorter time. Specialized teams most often intervened in an emergency code with flashing lights (92.8%) while basic teams without flashing lights (74.8%). The study demonstrated that in the group of females, emergency teams undertook interventions most often due to cancer of the gastrointestinal tract (21%), whereas among males, due to cancer of the respiratory system (32%). However, in as many as 45% of oncological patients pharmacological treatment was not undertaken.

Conclusions:
There is a great need for developing and implementing rules of management for Emergency Medical Teams interventions with oncological patients. Increase in the number of cancer patients is associated with a higher number of interventions of Emergency Medical Teams; therefore, it is justifiable for paramedics to improve their competences in the field of oncology.