Asking your doctor questions about palliative care will help you make an informed choice. You may want to include some of the questions below in your own list.
Learn useful questions about:
Palliative care
- Who will be a part of my palliative care team?
- Who will coordinate my care?
- Where will I receive palliative care?
- If I’m at home, what kind of help will be available?
- Can I call the palliative care team at any time? Who do I contact after hours?
- Will the palliative care team talk to my GP and cancer specialists about my care?
- How long will I need palliative care for? What is my prognosis?
- How can I get a second opinion about my need for palliative care?
- Do I need to see a specialist palliative care service?
- What if my condition unexpectedly improves?
Other treatment
- Are there other treatments available that might cure the cancer?
- Will I receive treatment for the cancer if I have palliative care?
- Are there any clinical trials I could join?
- If I don’t have further treatment, what should I expect?
- Are there any complementary therapies that might help?
Support services
- Can my family or carers get respite care or other assistance?
- Do I have to pay for any palliative care services?
- What financial and practical assistance is available?
- Can you help me talk to my family about what is happening?
| For more suggested questions, visit Palliative Care Australia. |
More resources
Prof Katherine Clark, Clinical Director, Palliative Care, Northern Sydney Local Health District Cancer & Palliative Care Network, and Conjoint Professor, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, NSW; Richard Austin, Social Worker, Specialist Palliative Care Service, TAS; Sondra Davoren, Manager, Treatment and Supportive Care, McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer, VIC; A/Prof Brian Le, Director of Palliative Care, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre – The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Cathy McDonnell, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Concord Centre for Palliative Care, Concord Hospital, NSW; Natalie Munro, Team Leader, PalAssist, QLD; Penelope Murphy, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council NSW; Kate Reed, Nurse Practitioner Clinical Advisor, Palliative Care Australia; Merrilyn Sim, Consumer. We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title. We particularly acknowledge the input of Palliative Care Australia and their permission to quote from €œBrian’s Story €_x009d_ in A Journey Lived – a collection of personal stories from carers (2005).
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.
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