Managing any serious illness can be challenging; however, there is a type of care to help you feel better immediately called palliative care. You can receive this type of care simultaneously with your disease treatment. The primary goal of palliative care is to relieve your pain and other symptoms, and improve your quality of life.
Palliative care is a fundamental part of the treatment of any serious or life-threatening illness.
What are palliative care?
Palliative care is part of a comprehensive treatment for managing the discomfort, symptoms, and stress associated with any serious illness. It does not replace primary treatment but complements the primary treatment you receive. Its goal is to prevent and alleviate suffering and improve your quality of life.
Palliative care alleviates symptoms such as pain, difficulty breathing, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, sleep problems, and many others.
They can also help you tolerate the side effects of the medical treatments you receive. Perhaps most importantly, palliative care can help improve your quality of life and also assist your family
Palliative care also provides support for the patient and their family and can improve communication between them and their healthcare providers
Palliative care provides:
- Specialized treatment to alleviate pain and other symptoms as much as possible.
- Open dialogue about therapeutic options, including disease treatment and symptom management.
- Coordination of care with all your healthcare providers.
- Emotional support for you and your family
Team of professionals focused on patient care
Every palliative care team is different and may include the following professionals:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Social workers
- Religious or spiritual counselors
- Pharmacists
- Nutritionists
- Counselors and others
Where palliative care is offered:
- Palliative care can be provided in the hospital.
- In outpatient clinics or at home. The process begins when your healthcare provider refers you to the palliative care team or when you request the referral.
- Palliative care is provided by a team of professionals that includes medical and nursing specialists, social workers, pharmacists, nutritionists, and religious or spiritual counselors, among others.
Bibliography
- https://www.ninr.nih.gov/newsandinformation/publications/cuidados-paliativos-para-enfermedad-grave
- https://www.paho.org/es/temas/cuidados-paliativos