When Should Someone Be Offered Palliative Care? Experts Weigh In
Severe illness is tragic news for someone, and for their loved ones. And when someone should be offered palliative care is a difficult yet essential discussion to have.
Palliative care improves comfort and manages pain for those at any stage of a serious illness. This differs from end-of-life care which has the same comfort and pain management objective, but is introduced at the final stages of the illness.
At BelleVie, we know there’s misconceptions around what palliative care is (and what it’s not), who it’s for, and the common diseases associated with it.
We’ve designed this guide to explain these elements and to reassure that palliative care is to improve wellness and quality of life for someone with a serious illness and to support their loved ones too.
Common Palliative Care Health Issues
Palliative care, provided by compassionate specialists, focuses on managing and alleviating the symptoms of severe illnesses to enhance the quality of life for care recipients and their families.
Depending on the illness, physical needs may include administering medications or treatments, addressing muscle discomfort, providing personal care, and managing pain. Equally important is the emotional and psychological support offered to both the care recipient and their loved ones, ensuring that they feel understood, comforted, and supported during this challenging time.
Chronic Illnesses
Common illnesses where doctors recommend palliative care are chronic illnesses like cancer, heart and kidney disease, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
With cancer, symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea and confusion can make daily life distressing and painful without professional care.
Heart and kidney related conditions often require specialist actions like lymphatic drainage, medication management and relaxation techniques for a calmer heart rate.
With central nervous system diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s muscular movement is often also a focus area. As well as body comfort, emotional strategies are important because these diseases can reduce the brain’s production of dopamine (the happy hormone).
Life-Limiting Conditions
Life-limiting conditions can often require palliative care - or in some scenarios – end of life care.
If chronic illnesses mentioned above become terminal and reach a stage where medical technology simply cannot help. Palliative care might be needed to provide holistic, emotional and physical support, and a person-centred approach that’s focused on wellbeing and comfort. You can read about BelleVie’s support to Jim and his wife Ann on their journey with Jim’s rare and degenerative disease here.
Managing Coexisting Conditions
In some cases, multiple illnesses may coexist. Achieving a high level of comfort and wellbeing often requires a complex combination of treatments, medications, and therapies. This approach exemplifies when palliative care is appropriate, and it is best managed by professionals.
When Should Someone be Offered Palliative Care?
Doctors may recommend palliative care when medical treatment has been exhausted and will no longer work. Yet there are various reasons why doctors recommend palliative care.
It’s advised to start discussions early in a diagnosis of a life-limited condition or advanced disease. Professionals can help guide through the emotional acceptance period, plan logistics and set medical benchmarks for the family to review and manage any changes.
Early implementation
These conversations with loved ones are terribly painful, so it’s helpful to remember that specialist care is for wellbeing and comfort. To have these discussions early on can ease the emotional and psychological impact as time moves forward. And it helps to build emotional acceptance for when the time comes.
BelleVie has a number of illness support services available. You can find out more here.
As Health Declines
As an illness progresses, treatment plans can also evolve.
With care professionals as part of the journey, consistency in this personalised approached helps to build comforting relationships and trust that they understand the person’s specific medical needs.
Support in Final Stages
As the final stage draws near, a caring and supportive environment with emotional and spiritual wellness can make a real difference. This is only possible when pain management, physical comfort and emotional needs are collectively managed.
An established palliative plan helps in allowing meaningful moments with dignity for families to spend precious last moments together with their loved ones.
Understanding and Implementing Palliative Care
Who is Palliative Care Suitable For?
Palliative Care is for anyone who needs support to manage symptoms and life-limiting or curative diseases to improve their quality of life. Family, loved ones, and caregivers of the care recipient are included in the palliative care journey.
How to Choose Palliative Care
The first step is to understand how to manage the person’s symptoms. Consult with their medical team to understand treatment, medications and any equipment needed.
Also, consider a service provider's ability to provide emotional and spiritual aspects within their care. In general, a holistic approach is advised to meet all aspects of symptoms during a challenging illness.
Have a look through our service options here.
Why do Doctors Recommend Palliative Care?
Hospitals can be daunting and impersonal. Doctors recognise that palliative care at home or in a specialist facility, provides a more peaceful environment; important for wellbeing even with complex treatment plans.
Further Preparations to Consider
A living-will (also known as an advance decision) is a legal document that formalises how a person would like their future treatment dealt with if they’ve lost the mental capacity to decide themselves when the time comes.
It’s suggested to establish this document around the time of thinking of palliative care.
Palliative Care: The Common Misconceptions
Often assumed it’s for our older citizens, palliative care is for anyone suffering a debilitating illness or disease.
The primary focus is on wellbeing and quality of life for both the care recipient and their loved ones.
Often confused with hospice care, which is care and comfort for those at the end of life stage.
Final Thoughts…
As you can see, there are many aspects to consider which can feel daunting at first. At BelleVie, we’re experienced in the decisions needed to create a supportive palliative care plan that’s focused on quality of life and comfort for your loved one.
If you’d like to learn more, our friendly team are ready to talk with you. Contact us here.
