Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Avow Hospice, Inc.
Have you ever listened to mothers-to-be discussing their options for bringing their babies into the world?
Births can take place at home or in a hospital, with or without pain-relieving drugs, under water, in a room filled with soft lights and soothing music, or in many other ways. It’s important, parents believe, to welcome a new life in a way that reflects family traditions, personal preferences and beliefs.
People at the end of life have choices, too, about the care they receive. Understanding the options can help seriously or terminally ill people choose the types of care that help them leave this life with as much grace, dignity and peace as when they entered it. Here are highlights of two of those options. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. This type of care focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of a critical illness, whatever the diagnosis. The goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. This care is appropriate for people of all ages and at any stage in a serious illness; it can also be provided together with treatments whose aims are to cure disease.
Hospice care is like palliative care in that it focuses on improving quality of life and relieving symptoms; it also offers support for patients’ family members. It’s different from palliative care in that hospice patients choose to stop curative treatments that aren’t working and that are decreasing their quality of life. People in hospice care have a life expectancy of 6 months or less; many live longer and can stay on hospice as long as their doctor believes they still meet medical criteria.
Common Misunderstandings
Myths about palliative and hospice care can prevent those in need from getting the comfort and support that could improve their quality of life. Here are some common myths and explanations about what’s really true.
Myth: Palliative and hospice care are only for people with cancer.
While many people who receive palliative or hospice care have cancer, others are living with heart disease, lung diseases, dementia or one of many other illnesses. Palliative care can bring relief to a variety of symptoms and help all kinds of patients and their families cope with the stress of sickness. In the US, only 1 in 3 hospice patients have a cancer diagnosis.
Myth: Palliative and hospice care are for old people.
People of all ages benefit from the comfort focus of hospice and palliative care. There are no age requirements or limitations for either type of care.
Myth: Patients give up control when they go on palliative or hospice care.
If you are a hospice or palliative care patient, you will still be able to call the shots on what treatments you do or don’t want. Both hospice and palliative care are medical specialties, just like cardiology, pediatrics, and obstetrics. They supplement the care you receive from your primary doctor and/or family. You never lose your right to start, stop or reject any treatment offered by a palliative or hospice care specialist.
Myth: Accepting hospice means my doctor has given up on me.
Most hospice patients receive more care – and more kinds of care – than they did before joining the program. Treatments change their focus from curing disease to keeping patients comfortable. It’s not uncommon for hospice patients to “get better” as a result of the care; they leave the program and return when they need to.
Myth: Palliative care is available only in the hospital; hospice is a place people go to die.
Palliative care services are offered in clinics, private residences, nursing facilities, physician offices and hospitals. Hospice care is delivered where the patient lives, whether that is a home, living facility or other place. Some hospices, including Avow in Collier County, have inpatient facilities for short-term crisis care. With the right care, the end of a life can be as well-planned and peaceful as its beginning. Receiving palliative or hospice treatment early in a serious or terminal illness can help patients live longer and with better quality of life, including decreased depression. Ask your doctor about how palliative and hospice care can help you or someone you love.
Avow provides hospice and palliative care services to residents of Collier County.
Not sure what kind of help you or a loved one needs?
Call us at 239-261-4404 for a personal consultation with one of our care specialists.