Improving the quality of life for patients diagnosed with serious illness
Palliative Medicine is a specialized medical care focused on providing you with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress resulting from a serious illness – no matter the diagnosis. Your illness may be life-limiting, life-threatening or chronically severe. The goal of Palliative Medicine is to improve the quality of life for both you and your family.
Palliative Medicine is appropriate at any age, at any stage in a serious illness, and can be provided while you continue treatments to cure your illness.
Palliative Medicine Team
The Palliative Medicine team is made up of providers, nurses and social workers. We work with your other medical providers to provide an extra layer of support to make sure your care is aligned with what is important to you.
How can Palliative Medicine help?
- Improving pain management for patients with pain that is related to serious and possible life-limiting illnesses.
- Improving symptom management, including shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation, and fatigue.
- Aligning treatment with what matters to you. This may include starting some therapies or diagnostic tests and discontinuing others.
- Counseling about treatment options including offering assistance with discussions on prognosis, artificial hydration and nutrition, tube feedings, and advance directives.
- Improving coordination with other health care services by helping with discussions involving multiple consulting specialties.
When to call Palliative Medicine
You, a member of your family, or your health care provider may ask for a Palliative Medicine consultation at any time after you have been diagnosed with a serious or potentially life-limiting illness.
Illnesses where palliative medicine could be appropriate include cancer; diseases of the heart, lung, liver, kidney or brain; severe infection; or trauma.
Many patients live for years with their serious illness. A consultation gives you ways to manage your symptoms and adds support for you and your caregivers.
If you’re sick and it’s serious, we can help.
