Palliative Care Facts

What is palliative care?

Palliative care, or palliative medicine, is the medical specialty focused on people living with serious illness. It provides relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis or prognosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

Palliative care is provided by a team of specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.

Who can benefit from palliative care?

Palliative care is appropriate for anyone suffering from a serious illness (e.g. cancer, cardiac disease, respiratory disease, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s. AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and more.)

When is palliative care appropriate?

You can receive palliative care from the point of diagnosis. It is not dependent on prognosis.

What do you gain from palliative care?

Specially trained to deal with complex pain and symptoms, as well as communication about serious illness, palliative care helps with a wide range of issues, including pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, shortness of breath, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping.

It also helps people gain the strength to carry on with daily life. It improves their ability to tolerate medical treatments. And it helps them have more control over their care by improving their understanding of treatment options and matching their goals to those options. It also helps support family caregivers and provides practical support.

Can you have palliative care together with curative treatment?

Yes. You can always have palliative care along with curative and life-prolonging treatment.

Do you have to give up your own doctor?

No. Palliative care teams work together with the primary doctor.

How do you pay for palliative care?

Palliative care is treated in the same way as other medical services (e.g. cardiology). Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover all or part of palliative care.

How do you get palliative care?

You should ask your doctor for a referral to receive palliative care.