Palliative care is a person-centred approach to care that can sometimes be called supportive care. It can help people who have a progressive, life-limiting illness to live as fully and as comfortably as possible.
Many people think palliative care is only for end of life. However, its main aim is to improve your quality of life by identifying and managing your physical needs. It can also support your practical, emotional, cultural, social and spiritual needs. Palliative care also offers support to family and carers.
Palliative care may include:
- relief of pain and other symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath
- access to resources, such as equipment to help you manage your care at home
- help for families to gather and talk about sensitive or complex issues
- links to other services such as home help and financial or legal support
- support for emotional, cultural, social and spiritual concerns
- referrals to respite care services (short-term care up to several days so that carers can take a break).
Your specialist, GP or community nurse often provides general elements of palliative care. If you have more complex needs, your care may be led by a specialist palliative care service. They can also provide advice to other health professionals on how to best manage your symptoms.
Palliative care may be provided at home, in a hospital, in a palliative care unit (sometimes called a hospice) or in a residential aged
care home. Find your local palliative care body at palliativecare.org.au.
For more on this, see Palliative care, call 13 11 20, or listen to our podcast The Thing About Advanced Cancer.
→ READ MORE: Who will I see for my care?
More resources
Fiona Wiseman, Senior Social Worker, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Grace Berwald, Consumer; Peta Brydon, Metastatic McGrath Breast Care Clinical Nurse Consultant, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, NSW; Kate Bunyan, Social Worker, Psychosocial Lead, Cancer and Palliative Supportive Care, Canberra Region Cancer Centre, ACT; Hayden Christie, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Director Cancer Care Service and Clinical Lead of the VAD Service for Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, QLD; John Clements, Consumer; Claire Davies, Spiritual Care Practitioner, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Joanne Dean, Nurse Practitioner, PEACE Team, Clare Holland House, ACT; A/Prof Michael Franco, Medical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine Physician, Deputy Head – Monash Medical School, Monash University, VIC; Dr Sally Greenaway, WSLHD Director of Supportive and Palliative Care, Senior Staff Specialist Clinical Haematology and Clinical Ethics Service, NSW; Maree Grier, Clinical Psychologist, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Dr Catherine Joyce, National Manager, Advance Care Planning Australia; Mattesse Kitchin, Consumer; Penny Neller, Project Manager, End of Life Law for Clinicians, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology, QLD; Caitriona Nienaber 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Palliative Care Australia; A/Prof Joel Rhee, Head of Discipline of General Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW.
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