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Summary
Palliative care is treatment of the discomfort, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. It provides relief from distressing symptoms including:
- Pain
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Problems with sleep
It can also help you deal with the side effects of the medical treatments you're receiving.
Hospice care, care at the end of life, always includes palliative care. But you may receive palliative care at any stage of an illness. The goal is to make you comfortable and improve your quality of life.
NIH: National Institute of Nursing Research
Related Issues
- Meet the Palliative Care Team (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
Specifics
- Cancer Pain Control: Support for People with Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Palliative Care in Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Shortness-of-Breath (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
Health Check Tools
- Is Palliative Care Right for You? (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Palliative Care (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Feasibility of a digital palliative care intervention (Convoy-Pal) for older adults...
- Article: Early Integrated Palliative Care in Patients With Advanced Cancer: A Randomized...
- Article: Transitional Palliative Care for Family Caregivers: Outcomes From a Randomized Controlled...
- Palliative Care -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- Find a Home Care or Hospice Agency (National Alliance for Care at Home)
- National Alliance for Care at Home
- National Institute of Nursing Research
Children
- Palliative Care for Children: Support for the Whole Family When Your Child Is Living with a Serious Illness (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDF
Patient Handouts
- Finding Family Support Resource Card (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDF
- Palliative care - fear and anxiety (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Palliative care - fluid, food, and digestion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Palliative care - managing pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Palliative care - shortness of breath (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Palliative care - what the final days are like (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Pediatric Palliative Care at a Glance (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDF Also in Spanish
- What is palliative care? (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish