“Palliative Care is the art of caring for the sick”
Palliative care is a cornerstone of care for patients facing serious illness and terminal prognosis.
This care is directed both to the patient suffering from the disease and to his or her closest relatives, who will play a very important role as primary caregivers.
The aim of palliative care is to provide specialized care and attention to physical and psychological symptoms from the earliest stages of the disease, without neglecting the emotional, spiritual and social aspects, allowing them to spend the last stage of their life in the best possible conditions.
Management of symptoms such as pain, dyspnea, insomnia, asthenia or digestive symptoms such as nausea or constipation. The priority objective is to achieve patient comfort and relief of any symptoms that limit their quality of life.
This support is essential both to manage symptoms such as anxiety and depression, which are associated with life-threatening illnesses, and to help the patient and family adapt to the disease by providing ongoing support and companionship.
From the Palliative Care team we must help to understand what treatment options can be offered. It is important that decision-making about treatment respects the patient and his or her autonomy, placing his or her priorities, wishes and values at the center of health care.
The comprehensive approach to achieving patient comfort and well-being should be the result of teamwork among diverse healthcare professionals, such as physicians of different specialties, nurses, psycho-oncologists, social workers, therapists, and spiritual counselors.
Caregivers need to be supported to provide emotional support, as well as the necessary training to care for the patient.
To offer support for the spiritual needs of patients while respecting their beliefs and wishes.
To carry out all these objectives it is necessary to provide comprehensive assistance to both patients and family members, since they are an indispensable part of the patients’ lives. To this end, care and psychological support is essential, especially for patients to be as comfortable as possible and with as little discomfort as possible.
The well-being of family members is fundamental to comprehensive patient care. For this reason, we offer a specialized assistance service that includes psychosocial support, education, participation in decision-making, bereavement support and support groups.
Family members receive emotional and psychological support to help them manage stress, anxiety and the emotional impact of the patient's illness.
Family members are provided with information and training about the disease and symptom management, preparing them to actively participate in the patient's care.
Family members are included in discussions about the plan of care, ensuring that the patient's wishes and values are respected, and everyone's opinions are considered.
Support is offered to prepare families for bereavement, as well as ongoing assistance after the patient's death to help them cope with the loss.
Support groups and family therapy provide a space to share experiences, improve communication and strengthen mutual support among family members.
The palliative care approach combines science and humanity to manage physical symptoms and provide the emotional, social and spiritual support that the patient and family may need.
Recognizing and addressing patients’ spiritual needs is an integral part of palliative care, regardless of their religious beliefs or practices.
Open and honest communication is crucial to understanding the patient’s wishes and needs, as well as providing the information needed to make informed decisions about their care.
Palliative care can be carried out both in the hospital and in the patient’s own home; within the hospital, comprehensive assistance is provided in special palliative care units with the necessary equipment; in addition, palliative care can be provided in the home, which is a preferred system of care for both patients and families, since it is more comfortable for the terminal patient to stay in his or her own home than in the hospital.
Many people believe that palliative care is only for patients in their last days or weeks of life. However, it can begin as soon as a serious illness is diagnosed, and can be provided along with curative treatments to improve quality of life.
There is a perception that accepting palliative care means that all treatment options have been exhausted and that the patient is “giving up.” In reality, palliative care can be integrated with curative treatments to relieve symptoms and improve overall well-being.
Palliative care encompasses a broader spectrum than end-of-life (hospice) care. It focuses on improving quality of life at any stage of a serious illness, not just at the end of life.
Although pain management is a key component, palliative care also addresses emotional, psychological and spiritual symptoms, offering a comprehensive approach to patient care.
While many cancer patients benefit from palliative care, these services are also available for people with other serious illnesses such as heart failure, lung disease, advanced neurological diseases, among others.
Palliative care can benefit a wide variety of people facing serious or life-threatening illnesses:
It is never too early to start palliative home care. Whenever pain (physical or emotional), discomfort or deterioration from the disease becomes noticeable and makes the patient’s daily life difficult, palliative care can be started.
Palliative care is not only focused on pain control, although this is a fundamental part and the main goal of palliative care. In addition to this, the process includes support for the patients’ families as it is a complicated time for them as well.
