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From: How you can benefit from palliative care.(WELLBEING) by
Source: Focus on Healthy Aging, 2/1/2010.
Via:

HighBeam™ Research
COPYRIGHT 2009 Belvoir Media Group, LLC

Excerpt:

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When you are coping with a serious illness, you need relief from pain and other symptoms in order to be able to live as normal a life as you can. It's also important that you fully understand your illness, your prognosis, and your care options.

"Palliative care is care that focuses on maximizing quality of life for patients and families facing serious illness," says Emily Chai, MD, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "It does so by alleviating symptoms, and moderating the intensity of the condition. It integrates psychosocial and spiritual care and provides support through the course of the illness. It often involves an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers."

Palliative care is not dependent on prognosis, meaning that it can be provided at the same time as treatment, and it is not the same as hospice care, which is designed for terminally ill patients. Although patients do not have to be terminally ill or in a hospice to receive palliative care, it can help you navigate through and make decisions about end-of-life care.

Is palliative care right for you? You may want to consider palliative care if you suffer from pain or other symptoms due to any serious illness, experience physical or emotional pain that is not under control, or need help understanding your situation and coordinating your care. According to Dr. Chai, anyone with a serious illness can benefit from palliative care, including those with cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, and Alzheimer's disease.

While some physicians incorporate some palliative care into their practice of medicine, others don't. "This is where palliative care specialists can be helpful," says Dr. Chai. "Palliative care specialists can be involved at the beginning of a serious illness or any time during its course. It does not matter whether your disease is curable or not."

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How does palliative care work? Palliative care provides relief from symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, and trouble sleeping. It can also help you deal with the side effects of medical treatment. Together with the doctor primarily treating your condition, your palliative care team can combine pain and symptom control into every part of your treatment. If you have pain that is not relieved by drugs such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, the palliative care team may recommend stronger medications. They can tell you about how various medications work, what their side effects are, and how you can get the most effective pain relief.

Family can be a great source of support and comfort during an illness, and you should allow your palliative care team to acquaint themselves with your family members, speak openly with them, and include them in the decisions you make about your treatment. They can also make sure you experience a smooth transition between the hospital and other services, such as home care or nursing facilities."

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