By Shannin Prather
January 2024 | 2024 Winter Newsletter
Palliative care (pronounced pallee-uh-tiv) refers to specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on relief from symptoms and stress caused by a serious illness rather than on curing an illness. The goal is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and their loved ones.
Many people may confuse palliative care with hospice or mistake palliative care for end-of-life care. However, palliative care can be provided alongside any type of care to treat and cure a condition. It is for people of all ages and in any stage of a serious medical condition.
Hospice is care that offers comfort and support to people facing a terminal illness and provides a system of care for those who have received a terminal diagnosis of six months or less. Hospice sees the dying process as a part of life and focuses on bettering the quality of remaining life with pain management, as well as the emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of the end-of-life process.
Every person’s needs are unique. Both palliative and hospice care teams work with the patient and those who care for them to develop a personalized care plan to ensure the patient and their loved ones are at the center of all decision-making.
To learn more about palliative care, ask your primary care doctor or specialist for a referral or visit getpalliativecare.org to find a palliative care team near you. You can also find more information on the palliative care page of the Stanford Health Care website: med.stanford.edu/palliative-care.
Palliative care (pronounced pallee-uh-tiv) refers to specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on relief from symptoms and stress caused by a serious illness rather than on curing an illness. The goal is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and their loved ones.
Many people may confuse palliative care with hospice or mistake palliative care for end-of-life care. However, palliative care can be provided alongside any type of care to treat and cure a condition. It is for people of all ages and in any stage of a serious medical condition.
Hospice is care that offers comfort and support to people facing a terminal illness and provides a system of care for those who have received a terminal diagnosis of six months or less. Hospice sees the dying process as a part of life and focuses on bettering the quality of remaining life with pain management, as well as the emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of the end-of-life process.
Every person’s needs are unique. Both palliative and hospice care teams work with the patient and those who care for them to develop a personalized care plan to ensure the patient and their loved ones are at the center of all decision-making.
To learn more about palliative care, ask your primary care doctor or specialist for a referral or visit getpalliativecare.org to find a palliative care team near you. You can also find more information on the palliative care page of the Stanford Health Care website: med.stanford.edu/palliative-care.