Nobody Gets Out AlivePalliative care
Care focused on comfort and quality of life, alongside treatment.
Not medical advice. This page is general information. Laws and forms vary where you live, and so does every family. Your doctor can tell you what applies to you.
Palliative care is care focused on comfort and quality of life for people living with a serious illness. It treats pain, breathlessness, nausea, worry and other symptoms, and it supports the family too.
It is available alongside treatment, not only at the very end. A person can have palliative care while still receiving treatment meant to cure or control an illness, and it can start any time after a serious diagnosis.
It is often confused with hospice. They are not the same: hospice is for the last stage of life, and palliative care is not limited to that stage.
If you or someone you love has a serious illness, it is reasonable to ask the doctor whether a palliative care team is available.
Questions to talk over
- What would make the days we have feel better?
- Is there a palliative care team we can ask for?
Covered in Episode 1: The Conversation We Keep Avoiding.