Palliative care
As a carer, you can be supported in your role by palliative care. This involves a range of services offered by nurses, doctors and allied health professionals, as well as volunteers. It is a team approach that addresses the person’s physical, practical, emotional, spiritual and social needs.
Palliative care aims to help people with a life-limiting illness to live as fully and comfortably as possible. It doesn’t mean giving up hope – in fact, it can improve quality of life at any stage of advanced cancer and can be given alongside other cancer treatments.
Learn more about:
When to start palliative care
You can ask your treatment team for a referral to palliative care as soon as advanced cancer is diagnosed. Even if you don’t want to access the services right away, it can be reassuring to understand what support is available. Many people say that they wish they had been referred to palliative care earlier.
How palliative care is provided
Palliative care may be coordinated by a GP or community nurse or, if the person’s needs are complex, by a specialist palliative care team. It can be provided at home supported by a community palliative care service, in hospital, in a palliative care unit (hospice) or at a residential aged care facility (formerly called a nursing home).
The palliative care team will help you and the person you’re caring for work out the best place for their care. Sometimes people spend a short time in hospital or in a palliative care unit to help get their symptoms under control and then return home again.
Your role
Carers are considered part of the palliative care team. If you have been providing most of the person’s care, it can be difficult to let other people take over some tasks. However, it is important to realise that the caring demands are likely to keep increasing as the cancer progresses. Accepting help can mean you can spend more quality time with the person you’re caring for.
For on this, call Cancer Council 13 11 20, or see Palliative care.
Listen to podcasts on Cancer Affects the Carer Too and How to Help Someone with Cancer
Click on the icon below to download a PDF booklet on palliative care
Instructions for downloading and reading EPUB files
Apple devices
The iBooks application must be installed on your Apple device before you can read the EPUB.
Different ways to download an EPUB file to your Apple device:
- email EPUB files to yourself and transfer the attachment to iBooks.
- copy EPUB files into DropBox (or a similar service) and use the DropBox app to send them to iBooks.
- open EPUB files directly from Mobile Safari and open them in iBooks, where they are saved automatically by downloading the EPUB from the website.
Need more help? Visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4059
Kobo
To download an EPUB file to your Kobo from a Windows computer:
- download and save the EPUB directly onto your desktop.
- connect your Kobo to your computer using the USB cable and tap “Connect” on your eReader.
- select “Open folder to view files” to view the contents of your Kobo.
- navigate to where you have stored your EPUB file in “Finder”, in documents or downloads, and drag and drop it into the Kobo window. You can now disconnect your Kobo to read the eBook.
To download an EPUB to your Kobo from a Mac:
- download and save the EPUB directly onto your desktop.
- connect your Kobo to your computer using the USB cable and tap “Connect” on your eReader.
- open your “Finder” application.
- select “Kobo eReader” from the listed devices to view the contents of your Kobo.
- navigate to where you have stored your EPUB file in “Finder”, probably in documents or downloads, and drag and drop it into the Kobo window. You can now disconnect your Kobo to read the eBook.
Turn on your Kobo and your EPUB will be located in “eBooks”, while a PDF will be located in “Documents”.
Need more information? Visit: http://www.kobo.com/help/koboaura/response/?id=3784&type=3
Sony Reader
To download an EPUB file on your Sony Reader™:
- ensure you have already installed the Reader™ Library for PC/Mac software
- select the eBook you want from our website and click the link to download it.
- connect the Reader™ to your computer.
- open the Reader™ Library software and click “Library” in the left-hand pane and select the eBook to view it.
Need more help? Visit: https://au.readerstore.sony.com/apps_and_devices/
Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation devices
EPUB files can’t be read on the Amazon Kindle™. However, like most eReaders, Kindle™ 2nd Generation devices are able to display PDFs. We recommend that you download the PDF version of this booklet if you would like to read it on a Kindle™.
To transfer a PDF to your Kindle™ via USB cable from your computer or Mac:
- download the PDF directly onto your computer.
- connect the USB cable to your computer’s USB port, and the micro USB end of the cable to your Kindle™. Note: the Kindle™ won’t be available as a reading device while it is connected to your computer until it has been disconnected.
- open the Kindle™ drive and several folders will appear inside. The “Documents” folder is where you will need to copy or drag the PDF to.
- safely eject your Kindle™ from your computer and unplug the USB cable. Your content will appear on the Home Screen.
Kindle also provides a Kindle Personal Documents Service that allows users to send documents as an attachment directly to your eReader. For more information on this service, visit http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=help_search_1-1?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200767340&qid=1395967989&sr=1-1
For more information on accessing a PDF on your Kindle™, visit www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle, log in to your account and click on Personal Document Settings.
Need more help? Visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200375630
Android and PC
You can also download and open eBooks on Android devices and PCs with appropriate apps or software installed. Suitable eReader apps for Android include Google Play Books, FBReader and Moon+ Reader. Suitable software for PCs include Calibre and Adobe Digital Editions.
This information was last reviewed in September 2017
Support services
Support for carers
Cancer Council NSW offers carers support online, over the phone and in person and can link you to our practical support services
Need legal and financial assistance?
Pro bono services, financial and legal assistance, and no interest loans
Cancer information
Advanced cancer
Information about cancer that has spread or come back
Emotions and cancer
Suggestions for coping with the diagnosis and treatment, as well as how to get support
View our publications
Guides and fact sheets for people with cancer, their families and friends
