Mercy Cancer Services
Palliative Care
Dealing with a chronic illness isn’t easy. The
decisions are difficult. There may be pain and discomfort. Life is never
the same, and these changes impact everyone – the patient, the family and
other loved ones.
Palliative care focuses on reliving or reducing
symptoms, pain and discomfort of a serious chronic illness.
Treating pain and symptoms helps patients respond to
the social and spiritual needs that may be a part of the disease
process. The result is an emphasis on the whole person – body, mind and
spirit. Individual, cultural and religious values and
beliefs are respected, important aspects of palliative care.
Mercy offers palliative care as part of the
treatment plan available to cancer patients. Palliative care and medical therapy
are an important
combination for patients. Our patients can benefit from palliative care
services from the initial diagnosis while receiving medical treatment
such as chemotherapy.
The palliative care
program is currently offered in a hospital setting for people with more specialized needs. Our program assists physicians in transitioning
patients to palliative care. It helps lay the groundwork for your doctor
to help you find palliative
care services after your discharge from the hospital.
The duration of palliative care may be long-term,
over several years, or short-term, lasting days or weeks.
The services offered by palliative care providers
are extensive, including:
-
psychosocial support and intervention to help
the patient and family members
-
equipment for delivery of medications,
nutrition, oxygen, and suction
-
equipment including special beds, toilets,
chairs, wheelchairs, and bath requirements
-
skilled nursing care, physicians, pharmacists,
and specialists
-
medication and nutrition support
-
spiritual, religious, and cultural
needs/requests
-
special services for family members (i.e.,
support groups)
-
respite care allowing the family to rest
-
bereavement care
-
follow-up care for the family
Relationship of palliative care to
hospice care
Mercy’s palliative care program can be a bridge to hospice but is
not hospice. Palliative care is helpful to patients with a chronic
illness who are still seeking aggressive therapy (i.e., chemotherapy and
blood transfusion). Palliative care increases in intensity as the
illness progresses. Hospice is a model of care that provides palliative
care to someone who is dying. At the last stages of life, the patient
may choose to receive palliative care services from a hospice provider.
You may need palliative care but never need hospice. |
