What is palliative care and how can it help?
August 7, 2024
Living Well at Home
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Palliative care focuses on symptom relief for people living with a serious illness. Palliative care teams include doctors, nurses, and other specialists. They can also include social workers, chaplains, or nutritionists. The palliative care team works with your provider to enhance your care and quality of life.
Palliative care is not one size fits all.
Palliative care is person-centered and tailored to individual needs and preferences. At CCA, palliative care begins with a discussion to determine the patient’s goals for their care.
CCA member Anil* was living with end-stage acute liver disease. CCA’s palliative care team discussed Anil’s goals with him and his family. They learned that Anil was hopeful for a liver transplant. Anil and his family held strong cultural and religious beliefs. These beliefs needed to be an important part of his care plan.
Palliative care is not always hospice care.
A common misconception is that palliative care and hospice care are the same thing. This is not true. Palliative care is appropriate at any stage of an illness. It may also be combined with treatment to cure that illness. Palliative care patients may transition to hospice care. They may also receive treatment that improves their symptoms and allows them to leave their palliative care program.
Like palliative care, hospice care aims to keep a patient comfortable during a serious illness. But hospice care is only provided at the end of the patient’s life. It is also not combined with any treatment to cure the illness.
When CCA member David* entered CCA’s palliative care program, he had heart failure. Not wanting to worry his family with his illness, he was not seeking treatment. He wanted to spend his final days with his family. The program’s role was to help him with symptom management and advance care planning.
David’s symptoms persisted. When he was hospitalized, it scared him. That was a turning point for David and his family. They wanted to discuss goals and treatment options.
These conversations led to a solution. Through a minor procedure, David had a defibrillator placed. From there, his health improved. David was able to leave the palliative care program and return to his family and life.
Palliative care focuses on quality of life
The goal of palliative care is to improve the patient’s quality of life. CCA’s palliative care program focuses on improving the whole health of its members. Palliative care is about more than addressing symptoms or an illness. It also includes mental health, social factors, and even spiritual well-being. Conversations around goals of care are important. They ensure that your care is exactly what you want it to be.
When David entered the palliative care program, he did not want treatment. The team focused their efforts to help him manage his symptoms. This included dietary changes to help with his fatigue and safety measures to help him with falls.
The team also explored options with him and his family to find the right solution for him. This afforded him the dignity to live his life the way he wanted. His family also had peace of mind that they were acting according to David’s wishes.
Palliative care also helps patients cope with their illness. Benefits of this include stress management or reduction and reduced risk of depression.
How palliative care can help.
The benefits of palliative care go beyond symptom management. Palliative care practitioners educate patients and caregivers. They provide support in making decisions about care and treatment. They may also provide guidance or instruction for a patient’s caregiver.
If you are a CCA member living with a serious illness, speak with your provider to determine if palliative care is right for you.
*To protect the privacy of our member, this name is a pseudonym.
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