What is palliative care?
Palliative care is focused on improving the overall wellness of people with serious illnesses. It addresses both the symptoms and the stress of living with a chronic illness. It may also involve support for loved ones or caregivers.
Since it’s based on individual needs, palliative care can be quite different from one person to the next. A care plan might involve one or more of the following goals:
- alleviating symptoms, including side effects of treatment
- improving understanding of illness and its progression
- identifying and addressing practical and spiritual needs
- helping to cope with feelings and changes related to illness
- assisting in understanding treatment options, making treatment decisions, and coordinating care
- identifying and accessing additional resources to provide support
Palliative care examples
Palliative care can be an option for many conditions. Some of the most common conditions where palliative care can be especially helpful are:
- cancer
- cardiovascular diseases
- dementia
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
These examples are explained in more detail below.
Palliative care for cancer
Cancer is one of the most common illnesses associated with palliative care, as both symptoms and treatment can have a significant impact on your quality of life.
Palliative cancer care varies depending on:
- the type of cancer
- symptoms
- treatment
- age
- prognosis
Palliative care for cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular diseases can affect a person’s quality of life and their ability to care for themselves. Cardiovascular diseases include:
- heart failure
- coronary artery disease
- stroke
- aortic stenosis
Palliative care for dementia
Dementia is associated with deteriorating brain function. It greatly impacts a person’s:
- cognition
- memory
- language
- judgment
- behavior
Palliative care for COPD
Palliative care can help people manage COPD, a respiratory illness that causes coughing and shortness of breath.
For this condition, palliative care might include treatments for discomfort, anxiety, or insomnia associated with difficulty breathing. You might receive education on lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, that can improve your activity level and slow the progress of your illness.