Palliative care means providing care, support and advocacy to those with progressive or life threatening illnesses regardless of their treatment choice or prognosis. Still, many people haven’t heard of palliative care or don’t really know what it is.
Palliative care is for patients and their families who are facing a potentially life threatening illness, but are at a stage where hospice care is not appropriate or desired. Active treatment options are still part of the care and the patient’s life expectancy is often undetermined. Even during an active treatment program when the prognosis is hopeful and optimistic, patients and caregivers are still faced, often for the first time, with the possibility of having a terminal illness.
A team of caregivers works closely with patients, their families and physicians to establish individual wishes and priorities for care. Services provided address skilled care needs, combined with psycho/social and support services. The ultimate goal of care is to provide not only physical care, but also family guidance and support through a difficult time of life.
