Tag: palliative care story

By Jennifer S. Scherer, MD

Living with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) presents many challenges. You may sleep poorly, feel weak or tired. Your skin can itch. Food tastes different, and you just don’t feel like eating much. It’s difficult to get around because your feet and ankles are swollen. All in all, it’s hard to get through the day and do many of the things you and your family used to enjoy. 

But you don’t have to go through this alone. There are ways to improve your quality of life. Palliative care can help.  … Read More

Lymphedema is often brushed off as a minor complication of life-saving treatment for cancer. But if you are living with it, you know that lymphedema can have a major impact on your quality of life – affecting both your physical and emotional well-being. Palliative care can help.

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Gregory has never been much of a runner. When it comes to exercise, he’s always preferred hiking. But tomorrow, along with his wife and two young children, he’s going to attempt to run his first 5K. For any of us who don’t run very often, a race like this would seem like a challenge in and of itself. But for Gregory—who has been living with stage IV metastatic non-small cell lung cancer for a little over a year now—it’s much more than that.

“If you had asked me back then if I ever thought I’d be here preparing to run a race, I wouldn’t have believed you,” says Gregory from his home outside Atlanta.

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If you have, or someone you love has, a serious illness, then you know how draining nausea can be. It makes you tired, uncomfortable and upset. Palliative care can help. … Read More

If you or a loved one are living with a serious illness, you should know whether palliative care is right for you. The first step is typically through the doctor who treats your illness. But not all doctors are clear on the definition of palliative care. … Read More

If you have a serious illness, coping with pain can be a big part of your daily struggle. You are not alone. Many patients with serious illnesses such as cancer, heart disease or kidney failure have pain that isn’t properly treated. Learn how palliative care can help. … Read More

What is most important to you? It’s easy to forget the things you love about life when you have a serious illness.

Think about it for a moment. Do you love live music or salsa dancing? Do you feel happiest reading bedtime stories to your grandson? Or is your happy place enjoying a simple meal at home with your family?

Doctors are often too busy fighting your illness to stop and ask you what you want out of life, but your answer to that question is very important. Palliative care can help you live a good life, the way you choose to live it. … Read More

If you have a serious illness, it’s very likely that you are suffering from fatigue. Fatigue is the feeling of being easily tired and unable to do everyday tasks. It is a feeling of general weakness. It is the feeling of being unable to focus and forgetting things. Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms for patients with serious illness.  … Read More

If you are facing a serious illness and have asked for palliative care or were referred by your physician, you may be wondering what the first meeting will be like. Here are five things you can expect. … Read More

Today, advocates from the Patient Quality of Life Coalition will descend on Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers and ask for their support on the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) (H.R. 3119/S. 2748).

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