Palliative Care In Concord City, California

Palliative care (from the Latin root palliate, which means “to cloak”) is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach to improve the quality of life and reduce suffering in people with severe, complex illnesses. There are numerous definitions of palliative care in the published literature. This definition by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that palliative care aims to alleviate suffering by identifying and treating pain as well as other physical, psychosocial and spiritual issues as soon as possible, in order to prevent or alleviate the suffering that comes with a life-threatening illness. For many years, palliative care was a disease-specific strategy; however, the World Health Organization believes that palliative care principles should be applied to any chronic and eventually fatal condition.

Palliative care is appropriate for people of all ages who have serious illnesses and it can be provided as the primary goal of care or in conjunction with curative treatment. An interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, chaplains and dieticians provide it. Palliative care can be delivered in various settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities and at home. Although it is an integral part of end-of-life care, palliative care is not limited to those nearing the end of their lives. Evidence suggests that a palliative care approach can improve a person’s quality of life. The primary goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for people suffering from chronic illnesses. Palliative care is typically provided at the end of life but it can be beneficial for anyone at any stage of a critical condition or any age.

Benefits Of Palliative Care

Supports the patient and family
Assists patients and families in understanding treatment plans
Improves quality of life
Provides pain and symptom control
Focuses on body, mind and spirit
Reduces unnecessary hospital visits

Improves Quality Of Life & Lowers Symptom Burden

Palliative care specialists improve the quality of life for patients with the most complex needs. The palliative care team, in collaboration with the primary physician, provides:

Time to spend on comprehensive family meetings and patient/family counselling
Skilled communication on what to expect in the future to ensure that care is tailored to the patient’s and family’s objectives and priorities
Skilled care of complicated physical and mental symptoms such as complex pain, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, shortness of breath, constipation, nausea, lack of appetite and problems sleeping.

Studies show that palliative care improves quality of life and reduces symptom burden for patients. Improved quality of energy means that visits to the health care system will be less stressful and upsetting for patients’ families, as well as their caregivers.

Relieves Symptoms And Stress

Palliative care aims to alleviate pain and give patients and their families the highest possible quality of life. Pain, sadness, shortness of breath, exhaustion, constipation, nausea, lack of appetite, difficulty sleeping and worry are all possible symptoms. However, the staff will assist you in regaining the strength to go on with your regular life. In summary, palliative care will help you live a better life; moreover, according to recent research, including one published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients with severe illnesses who got palliative care survived longer than those who did not.

Best Practices

Some recommendations propose incorporating palliative care into standard-of-care treatment procedures to meet the objective of increased hospice usage when appropriate. Patients with terminal illnesses should be informed of their prognosis at their first visit; a physician should designate a person to ensure that advance directives are discussed; hospice information visits should be scheduled within the first three visits; and the patient’s prognosis, coping strategies and goals of care should be discussed at each transition. This model has been proven to be effective in terminally ill patients.

Physicians should frame decisions around care objectives, which maintain hope and optimism while reorienting therapy toward acceptable goals. Palliative care should be integrated into a larger continuum of treatment to minimize sudden shifts in the medical course. During regular office visits, family doctors are well-positioned to address advance care planning; numerous ways that are more complex are available to support this dialogue. Palliative care may be an option for a variety of medical illnesses. Cancer, dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are just a few of the situations where palliative care can be highly beneficial. These instances are discussed in further depth below.

Cancer Palliative Care

Cancer is one of the most commonly related illnesses with palliative care, as both symptoms and therapy can substantially influence your quality of life. Palliative cancer care varies according to the kind of disease, symptoms, therapy, age and prognosis. Palliative care may be provided to someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer to help them cope with the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation or to aid in their recovery following surgery. Palliative care for cancer frequently involves therapies for sadness or anxiety and tools to assist family members in making plans.

Dementia Palliative Care

Dementia is linked to declining brain function. It significantly influences a person’s intellect, memory, language, judgment and conduct. Anxiety induced by dementia may be treated as part of palliative care. As the disease advances, it may become necessary to assist family members in making tough decisions regarding feeding or caring for their loved ones. It may also include assistance for family caregivers.

COPD Palliative Care

Palliative care can assist in managing COPD, a respiratory disease that causes coughing and shortness of breath. Palliative care for this illness may involve therapies for discomfort, anxiety or sleeplessness caused by trouble in breathing. In addition, you may be given information on how to make lifestyle changes, such as stopping smoking, to increase your activity level and limit the progression of your condition.

Talking About Palliative Care

Talking about your diagnosis, treatment and requirements is a vital aspect of palliative care. These discussions assist everyone in understanding what you want and expect from your therapies and overall care. Palliative care is most effective when you, your family and your health care team collaborate. Here are some pointers for communicating with your healthcare team:

Request that your doctor explain your diagnosis, treatment strategy and prognosis. The prognosis is the likelihood of recovery. These may vary over time, so keep inquiring. You can take notes or bring someone with you to appointments to assist you in recalling things.
Request that your health care providers clarify anything you don’t understand. This might be a medical term, a therapy or something else.
Inquire about your social, emotional, functional and spiritual requirements.
Inform your doctor if you are experiencing any pain, discomfort or other adverse effects. Do this even if you believe they are not significant or concerned that the malignancy is progressing. Informing your doctor about your symptoms allows them to locate the best treatment choices for you more quickly. There are several methods for symptom relief available today.
Please make a list of any symptoms and adverse effects you have, noting what happened, how frequently it occurs, what time of day it appears and how severe it is. Give your doctor or nurse a copy of your notes. This tracking assists your health care team in determining the source of the problem and treating it.
Discuss the palliative care services that are available to you with your doctor. You can also request an appointment with a doctor who specializes in palliative care.

How Does It Differ From Hospice Care?

The primary distinction between palliative and hospice care is when each form of care is provided.

Palliative care is accessible at any time for those who have a severe and potentially life-threatening disease, regardless of the stage of the illness. It has nothing to do with your prognosis or life expectancy.
On the other hand, hospice care is only provided towards the end of life, when sickness is no longer responding to treatment. At this point, the person may choose to discontinue therapy and undergo hospice care, commonly known as end-of-life care.
Hospice, like palliative care, focuses on a person’s total comfort, including emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. In reality, hospice is a type of palliative care. However, obtaining palliative care does not always imply being in hospice.

Conclusion

Caring for a dying person is a rare honour and privilege in our culture. Our primary objective as doctors is to alleviate pain while maintaining awareness; nevertheless, refractory symptoms may increase suffering and lower quality of life. In such instances, palliative sedation provides a compassionate and humane alternative to continuing suffering for both patients and caregivers.

Nonetheless, more research into the use of palliative sedation is needed; meanwhile, palliative sedation should be regarded as a helpful and effective remedy for refractory pain at the end of life.

ou can reach us at any time of day or night by contacting us through our 24/7 online customer support chat or by calling 1-888 635-6347 (MELODI-7).