Tag: palliative care

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

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In this episode of our ‘Quality Life’ series, we hear from Debbie, a hair dresser, a business owner and a proud grandmother diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Debbie was in a great amount of pain while receiving treatment for her illness. Then she found palliative care … Read More

If you have a serious illness, your medical treatments can sometimes make you feel worse. You may also feel that your pain, your symptoms and your distress are all part of being sick. It doesn’t have to be that way. Palliative care can help. … Read More

In this episode of our A Quality Life series, we hear from Brandi Hanna, a loving mother of four whose quality of life deteriorated after being diagnosed with aplastic anemia. Brandi shares how palliative care not only managed her symptoms, but treated her as a whole person. … Read More

Are you or a loved one living with a serious illness? Maybe you’re a caregiver or family member to a person living with a serious illness. Dealing with a serious illness, whether you’re the patient or a family member, can be difficult. That’s why you need palliative care. … Read More

Valerie Wallace is a young, vibrant, upbeat mother of three and wife to a husband she adores. So when she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2013, she was determined to fight. She underwent colon surgery and a round of chemotherapy. … Read More

Millions of Americans are dealing with a serious illness, such as cancer, heart failure or lung disease, whether as a patient or a caregiver. If you’re one of them, you may be sick of trips to the emergency room and unwanted hospital stays to treat pain, shortness of breath or other symptoms. Palliative care can help you stay safely at home. … Read More

In this episode of our Quality Life series, we hear from Angela James, a 37-year old woman living with a multitude of illnesses, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. As her symptoms worsened, her quality of life began to deteriorate, until she was referred to palliative care. … Read More

Angela James has been working since she was 15 years old. No stranger to hard work, she thrived at her job and she was in the prime of her life. She worked her way up the corporate ladder to a rewarding position as an accountant. She built a brand new house and was engaged to be married.

But things are different for Angela now. Angela has been living with a multitude of autoimmune disorders, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and Raynaud’s phenomenon. … Read More

Palliative care is a medical specialty that focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

But many Americans still aren’t clear on what palliative care really is or how it can benefit them. Here are four things you may not know about palliative care and how it can help patients and families live well with serious illness: … Read More