Palliative Care

The main goal of palliative care is to improve a patient's quality of life.

Palliative care is specialized medical and nursing care for people living with chronic and serious, sometimes terminal illnesses. Palliative care is a holistic approach that involves providing relief from both physical and psychological symptoms, caring for emotional and social needs, and improving quality of life starting as soon as possible after diagnosis. Palliative care may also assist families and caregivers.

Palliative care may also be called supportive care, comfort care, and symptom management. It may occur in a patient’s home, in the hospital, in a long-term care facility, or at an outpatient clinic.

Palliative care is provided by a team of medical professionals including doctors, nurses and other specialists with the goal of improving a patient’s quality of life. Palliative care can begin at diagnosis and may be given along with other treatments and cures.

A palliative care team works with patients and their families to:

• Help them understand their diagnosis and disease
• Identify treatment options and goals
• Coordinate with doctors
• Relieve a patient’s symptoms
• Alleviate stress
• Assist with medical decision-making

The main goal of palliative care is to improve a patient’s quality of life by relieving suffering. The palliative care team provides support to patients and caregivers. A palliative care team will help patients cope with physical symptoms of serious illnesses such as:

• Pain
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• Depression
• Anxiety

There are some similarities and differences between hospice care and palliative care. The main way the types of care are the same is that they both help patients deal with serious illness.

However, hospice care is reserved for terminally ill patients with a limited life expectancy and only begins once a patient’s condition is unable to be cured or managed. The only goal of hospice care is comfort and quality of life. In hospice, there are no attempts to cure an illness.

Palliative care can be administered any time from diagnosis to cure, and a person does not necessarily need to have a life-threatening condition. Some people with chronic illnesses will receive palliative care for many years, and others will only receive palliative care once they enter hospice in their final days or weeks of life.

Palliative care is administered by a team of health care professionals including doctors, nurses, other health professionals, chaplains, volunteers, and caregivers. All these people work together to provide care that improves a patient’s quality of life.

Types of doctors in a palliative care team can include general practitioners, as well as specialists such as surgeons and psychiatrists, along with specialized palliative care consultants.

Depending on a patient’s illness, different medical specialists may be part of the team, such as:

• Oncologists (cancer specialists)
• Neurologists (nerve disease specialists)
• Pulmonologists (lung disease specialists)
• Cardiologists (heart disease specialists)

Other health professionals who may be part of the palliative care team include:

• Dietitians
• Counselors
• Psychologists
• Occupational therapists
• Social workers
• Physiotherapists
• Orthotists
• Prosthetists
• Pharmacists

Complementary and alternative therapies may also be a part of palliative care such as:

• Acupuncture
• Yoga
• Massage therapy

Palliative care is available for many different serious and chronic illnesses, such as:

• Cancer
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Alzheimer’s disease
• ALS
• Parkinson’s disease
• Congestive heart failure
• Many others

The type of care provided will depend on the patient’s symptoms and needs.

Palliative care may include helping with medications, diet and nutrition, emotional or spiritual support, relaxation techniques, and support for caregivers and family members.

Palliative care for physical effects of illnesses may include:

• Medications
• Physical therapy
• Nutrition advice

Social and emotional support that might be arranged by palliative care specialists may include:

• Finding support groups
• Arranging transportation to treatments

Palliative care may also involve assistance with managing finances, such as:

• Helping patients and families deal with billing and insurance
• Assisting with applications for disability payments or medical leave
• Finding programs that offer low-cost or free medications

Palliative care can also include support for caregivers and family members of people with serious illness.

Palliative care may start once a patient is diagnosed and it may last for years, whereas hospice care only begins at the end of the life of a terminally ill patient.

Once a patient is diagnosed with a serious illness, an assessment of symptoms is usually the first step. Patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses commonly experience symptoms such as:

• Pain
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Confusion
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite

Symptom severity and frequency may determine treatments that will help improve quality of life for the patient.