Palliative care

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Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slows its progress rather than providing a cure.

The World Health Organisation, in a 1990 report on the topic, defined palliative care as “the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment”; however, other definitions [1] [1] have not stressed the incurable nature of the disease, suggesting the use of palliative care alongside, rather than in place of, curative treatments.

Palliative care is about making a patient comfortable, with a good quality of life, free of severe pain, or other unpleasant symptoms. Innovative cancer centers like the Memorial Sloan-Kettering provide palliative care to help cancer patients deal with depression and the nausea resulting from chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Most cancer patients, of course, are interested in surviving cancer, but they also want to be as comfortable as possible.

Pallative care is a relatively new form of patient care. In the past most doctors have concentrated on aggressively trying to cure patients. Concentrating on making a patient comfortable has been seen as ‘giving up’ on them. However in recent times the concept of having a good quality of life has gained ground, although many would argue that there is a long way to go yet.

Table of contents

1 Hospice care
2 History
3 See also
4 External Links

Hospice care

Hospice care occurs in hospitals, free-standing hospice units, and in homes. More than a place, hospice care is a philosophy. It is characterized by concern for symptom relief, general well-being, and spiritual/existential comfort for the dying. The need to maintain quality of life in dying or "quality of dying" is important as the incidence of chronic illness increases with the aging of the Western world's population.

The patient and family are the focus of hospice care, with emphasis placed upon the well-being of family caregivers as well as the patient. Opportunities for caregiver respite are one of the services hospices provide to promote caregiver well-being. Major aspects of palliative care include the relief of pain (analgesia), as well as psychological help for patients and their families to cope with the impending death.

The main difference between hospice care and palliative care is that the former is more about nursing while the latter is the physicians' term.

History

It is a relatively recent concept that originated and gained momentum in United Kingdom after the founding of the first modern hospice,St. Christopher's Hospice in 1967. Dr. Cicely Saunders is regarded as the founder of the hospice movement. Since its beginning, the hospice movement has grown dramatically.

The first hospice in the United States was established in 1974. In the U.S., hospice care is provided by a core interdisciplinary team consisting of physicians, registered nurses, chaplains, social workers, and the family. The focus of the team is to optimize symptom relief and function in people with terminal illness. Additional members of the team are likely to include home health aides, volunteers, personal care assistants, and housekeepers.

Board certification for physicians in Palliative care is through the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Alternative medical treatments such as relaxation therapy class="external">[1, massage [1], music therapy [1], and acupuncture [1] can relieve some cancer-related symptoms. Treatment that integrates complementary therapies with conventional cancer care is integrative oncology.