Articles & Stories

A new article on Cure.com discusses how palliative care for kidney cancer expands far beyond symptom management. Palliative care offers support in three areas: symptom management, counseling, and future care planning. It is valuable at any stage of the disease, helping patients align their treatment with their personal goals and improving their quality of life.

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About GetPalliativeCare.org

Are you or a loved one living with a serious illness? GetPalliativeCare.org is here to help.

GetPalliativeCare.org is an online resource for patients and families that focuses on providing information on palliative care from the point of diagnosis. At GetPalliativeCare.org you can read real patient stories about how palliative care has helped them, take a short quiz to see whether you or a loved one could benefit from palliative care, and more. The site is provided by the Center to Advance Palliative Care.

Living with liver disease can be difficult, but palliative care can make a big difference. Whether you have hepatitis, liver cancer, or cirrhosis (from any cause), palliative care can help you manage symptoms and improve your quality of life. If you or a loved one has liver disease, it’s important to know how palliative care can support you—from diagnosis through treatment.

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Getting a prostate cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming and scary, but you don’t have to face it alone. Palliative care can help you by managing symptoms, reducing stress, and improving your quality of life every step of the way.

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If you or a loved one are living with a serious illness, you may have experienced the financial stress that can come along with medical care. Whether you have insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, or are paying out of pocket, medical bills tend to stack up quickly. Add this to your everyday expenses like food, transportation, childcare, rent, and sometimes medical aides and home modifications, and paying bills seems insurmountable.

Did you know that there are nonprofit organizations that help offset costs for people living with serious illness? Every organization is different, but they all understand the stress and day-to-day needs of people living with a serious illness, and their loved ones. And they all have the goal of improving quality of life by reducing financial strain.

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Are you or a loved one living with a serious illness like cancer, kidney disease, or heart failure? If so, it’s important to know of a common symptom that isn’t always top of mind or discussed—constipation, which affects around 70% of people living with serious illness. Addressing constipation can improve quality of life and help with discomfort or pain.

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Taking five or more prescription medications (called polypharmacy) is more common than most people realize. Research shows that it is very common among older adults. Usually, this is because the person has several chronic conditions. That’s why health care providers tend to add medicine. The problem? The chances of having poor outcomes go up the more medication you take. Your palliative care team can make a difference. … Read More

Are you or a loved one living with a serious illness like cancer, COPD, or heart failure? While you may be focused on managing the main symptoms of your illness, there’s another common one that is not often recognized or treated: fatigue.

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You’ve probably heard a lot about telehealth, or the ability to have doctor appointments via phone and video chat. Now, more than ever, doctors have been making it available to their patients. 

If you or a loved one are living with a serious illness, telehealth is a great way to have regular appointments with your palliative care team and keep in touch regularly. You may first need to visit the doctor in person, but after that, you may be able to do most of your visits from where you’re most comfortable—at home.   … Read More

It’s been over 10 years since we recorded our first video with Debbie, and we are happy to report that she is doing well. In the summer of 2022, Debbie agreed to join us for another video to talk about how palliative care has helped her. … Read More

By Andrew Esch, MD

Heart failure is a serious illness that can take a toll on quality of life for patients and their families. If you are living with heart failure, you already know that it is a serious illness in which the heart is unable to pump blood properly. Palliative care can help. … Read More