Palliative care is an approach that helps people with advanced cancer to live as fully and comfortably as possible. It’s sometimes called supportive care. The main goal is to help you maintain your quality of life by identifying and dealing with your physical, emotional, cultural, social or spiritual needs. It involves a range of services offered by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, dietitians and psychologists, as well as volunteers and carers.
While some people delay or feel anxious about having palliative care because they believe it’s only offered to people close to death, this type of care can improve quality of life from the time of diagnosis. It may be used occasionally or continuously for a few weeks or months. The number of people receiving palliative care for several years is increasing. It can help people who are referred early on in their diagnosis; there is no need to wait until the end of life. Palliative care also offers support to families and carers.
For more on this, see Palliative care.
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Prof Nicholas Glasgow, Head, Calvary Palliative and End of Life Care Research Institute, ACT; Kathryn Bennett, Nurse Practitioner, Eastern Palliative Care Association Inc., VIC; Dr Maria Ftanou, Head, Clinical Psychology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, VIC; Erin Ireland, Legal Counsel, Cancer Council NSW; Nikki Johnston, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Clare Holland House, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, ACT; Judy Margolis, Consumer; Linda Nolte, Program Director, Advance Care Planning Australia; Kate Reed- Cox, Nurse Practitioner, National Clinical Advisor, Palliative Care Australia; Helena Rodi, Project Manager, Advance Care Planning Australia; Kaitlyn Thorne, Coordinator Cancer Support, 13 11 20, Cancer Council Queensland.
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