An Overview of Palliative Care

Palliative care covers both patients who have fatal conditions and those in the midst of healing. Most patients diagnosed with terminal diseases are overwhelmed by stress about their states. In many cases, the patient’s illness is curable and they return to the world after a few months or years in the hospital. However, many patients are diagnosed from birth or at a very young age and spend their childhoods in rooms. Isolated from the rest of the world, they may have never learned how to read or write, and often don’t have the chance to make friends. Palliative care helps ease the grief and stress of these patients, and also provides company to those who are in the process of healing.

Many are confused about the differences between palliative care and hospice care since both include comforting patients with severe illnesses. The main difference is that hospice care is for people whose treatments have already terminated, aiming to provide comfort and care to the patient, for a peaceful and respectful passing. On the other hand, palliative care can start from diagnosis and be done along with treatments. Palliative care is also open to a much wider population: according to the US. Department of Health & Human Services, “palliative care is a resource for anyone living with a serious illness, such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and many others.”