Palliative Care
Also known as: supportive care
Specialist care focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life at any stage of cancer.
Definition
Palliative care is specialist care focused on relieving the symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness — at any stage, alongside treatments aimed at controlling or curing the cancer. It is not the same as end-of-life care, though it includes that.
A palliative team can help with pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, appetite, mood and sleep, as well as practical and emotional support for patients and families. Early integration of palliative care alongside cancer treatment has been shown to improve quality of life and, in some studies, even survival. Learn more on the palliative care service page.
See also
- Metastasis — Cancer that has spread from where it started to another part of the body.
- Prognosis — A doctor's best estimate of how a cancer is likely to behave and respond to treatment.
- Remission — A reduction or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer after treatment.
- Recurrence — The return of cancer after a period of being undetectable.
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Medically reviewed by
Dr. Rehan Abdullah
Dr. Rehan Abdullah is a dual-trained clinical and radiation oncologist with over a decade of experience treating both solid tumours and hematologic malignancies. He serves as Consultant Oncologist at INMOL Hospital and sees patients at Farooq Hospital and Healthnox Medical Center, Lahore. Read full profile →
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