What Is Palliative Care?
When you’re seriously ill, you have to manage not just your medical condition but physical, emotional, and practical matters as well. You may be in pain or too tired to get through the day. You and your loved ones could feel overwhelmed by endless decisions to make. A kind of medicine known as palliative care can help. You might also hear it called comfort or supportive care.
You get it along with the care that you receive from your primary doctors. It focuses on relieving pain and other troubling symptoms and meeting your emotional, spiritual, and practical needs. In short, this medical specialty aims to improve your quality of life – however you define that for yourself.
One of the strengths of this type of care is recognition of the human side of illness. In a 2011 survey, people who got palliative care mentioned these needs: "being recognized as a person," "having a choice and being in control," "being connected to family and the world outside," "being spiritually connected," and "physical comfort."
Palliative care doesn't mean giving up your regular doctors or treatments or hope for remission or a cure. It may be a good option if you have a serious condition that has led to multiple hospitalizations or emergency room visits during the previous year.
Does palliative care mean that you're dying? Not necessarily. It does serve many people with life-threatening or terminal illnesses. But some people recover enough that they no longer need it. Others move in and out of it as needed.
Palliative Care vs. Hospice
If you decide to stop pursuing a cure for your illness and your doctor believes that you're within the last few months of life, you can switch to hospice care. Hospice is an important part of palliative medicine, but it's only one part of the field.
Both hospice and palliative medicine aim to provide care, comfort, and a better quality of life for people who have serious health conditions. Both hospice and palliative care involve a team of different types of health care providers working together.
But hospice focuses on end-of-life care, usually for people thought to have 6 months or less to live. You can get palliative care if your condition is life-threatening, curable, or chronic (long-lasting). And you can continue to get treatments to try to cure it.
Who Qualifies for Palliative Care?
Originally, palliative care was developed for people with a terminal illness. But it has become a medical specialty that focuses on a much broader range of diseases.
You don’t have to be dying or have a terminal illness to get this type of supportive care. It's for children and adults of any age, who are at any stage of a serious or ongoing illness. You can start it as soon as you’re diagnosed. If you get your symptoms under control early, you may be better able to get through the whole treatment.
Palliative care support for families
Dealing with a loved one's serious illness can take a toll on families. Your palliative team can help your family members by providing counseling, educating them about your situation, and supporting them as caregivers.
Some palliative programs offer home help and assistance with shopping, meal preparation, and respite care to give caregivers time off. Others can organize friends and other family members to pitch in. Your palliative team can also help your family members find support groups and other resources in the community.
Conditions Treated With Palliative Care
You might get palliative care if you have:
- Cancer
- Chronic lung disease
- Heart failure
- Kidney or liver failure
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- HIV or AIDS
- Multiple sclerosis
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia
- Spinal cord injuries
One of its main goals is symptom management. The disease itself may cause symptoms, but so can treatments. For example, chemotherapy drugs may cause nausea and vomiting. Also, narcotic drugs to control pain frequently lead to constipation. By providing symptom relief, palliative care can help you not only carry on with your daily life, but also improve your ability to have or complete your medical treatments.
Some of the symptoms it may address are:
- Pain
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Bowel and bladder problems
- Appetite loss
- Trouble breathing
- Coughing
- Depression or anxiety
- Confusion
- Weakness
- Trouble sleeping
Your palliative team may include specialist doctors and nurses as well as social workers, nutritionists, financial advisers, and spiritual advisers.
Members of the team will ask what you need and want. Maybe you’d like to feel well enough to leave the hospital or to move to the next step in your treatment. Or, you may want to get stronger so you can see your daughter play softball or attend your son’s wedding. Your team can help you reach those goals.
They can answer questions about treatment options, help you make decisions, and let your regular doctors know your wishes. You’ll have more control over your overall care this way.
Where Is Palliative Care Provided?
You can get this type of care at:
- Home
- An outpatient clinic
- A hospital
- An assisted living facility
- A nursing home
- A specialized palliative facility
When can I start palliative care?
You may start it at any stage of your illness, even as soon as you get a diagnosis and begin treatment. You don't have to wait until your disease has reached an advanced stage or when you're in the final months of life.
In fact, the earlier you start, the better. Anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain can set in at the beginning of treatment. Palliative experts understand the stresses that you and your family face and can help you to cope. Talk to your doctor about a referral to palliative care.
Palliative Care Cost
The cost of palliative services can vary widely, depending on things like:
- What condition you have
- Where you live
- How long you need treatment
- Whether you get care at home, the hospital, or another facility
- What insurance you have
Some research has shown that palliative treatment could result in lower hospital bills for a given condition. One study looked at Medicaid patients in four New York hospitals from 2004 to 2007. It found that those who got palliative services racked up $6,900 less in hospital costs, on average, than those who didn't.
Is palliative care covered by insurance?
Many private insurance plans pay for part of palliative medicine. Check with your insurer for specific benefits. This is separate from coverage for hospice care, which is often fully paid.
If you have Medicare Part B (the plan that pays for doctor visits and outpatient care) or Medicaid, you may get some palliative coverage, depending on the treatment.
Pediatric Palliative Care
The goals are the same for kids and adults: relieve pain and other symptoms. But children with serious illnesses aren’t mini-adults. They have their own specific needs. Some kids can’t explain their pain or are too young to talk. Doctors and nurses trained in pediatric palliative medicine can help read your child’s body language to figure out where and how much they hurt.
Your child’s team may also include:
A child life therapist. This specialist helps your child understand their illness and provides a sense of normalcy so they can be a regular kid as much as possible.
Art or music therapists. They work with your child to help them express feelings through art, music, poetry, or other creative outlets.
The team can help you and your child with the emotions that go along with a serious illness. It can help you wade through the important health care decisions you’ll have to make for your child, too.
Takeaways
Palliative care focuses on relieving symptoms, providing comfort, and improving quality of life for people with serious or ongoing illnesses. You don't have to be terminally ill to get it, and you can get treatment for your condition at the same time. If you or a loved one is living with a serious or chronic condition, consider asking your doctor about palliative care.
Palliative Care FAQs
What is the aim of palliative care?
Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life for people with serious or chronic medical conditions. It may include treatment to cure the condition as well as symptom relief and emotional support.
What is an example of palliative care?
You might get palliative care after a cancer diagnosis. While you're getting treatment for the cancer, your palliative care team will work to help ease your pain and fatigue as well as appetite loss resulting from chemotherapy. You might receive counseling to help you manage the stress that results from your illness and its treatment. Your palliative team may help your family members find a support group to deal with their emotions.
Palliative care is given at what stage of life?
You can get palliative care at any age, or at any stage of a serious or long-lasting condition. You can get it whether or not your condition is life-threatening.
How long does palliative care last?
How long you get palliative care depends on your condition and your needs. It can start as soon as you're diagnosed and last for weeks or years. Some people go in and out of palliative care as needed. Some recover from their condition and no longer need it.
Is palliative care for patients who are at the end of their life?
Palliative treatment is not necessarily for people with terminal conditions. Hospice is one type of palliative care that's intended for people who are thought to have 6 months or less to live.
