Palliative Care

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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

Start Here

Palliative Care (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Palliative Care: The Relief You Need When You Have a Serious Illness (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDF
What Is Palliative Care? (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

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)

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

Palliative Care

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