Benefits of early palliative care
If you knew you could significantly reduce the intensity of symptoms associated with your severe illness, you'd be interested, right?
Palliative care in the illness trajectory
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While studying palliative care, clinicians discovered that cancer patients who were randomly selected to receive early palliative care had a significant reduction in symptom intensity at four months and reported an improved quality of life.
Much like GPS navigation, for many patients with serious illnesses, the sooner you engage with palliative care, the more it can help. The goal is not to wait until you’re “lost” on your trip, but to partner with palliative care to make the journey easier. Studies have shown that people with chronic illnesses who engage with palliative care have a better quality of life, less pain and fewer symptoms, such as nausea.
Early palliative care with a cancer diagnosis may look like:
- Starting palliative care soon after the cancer diagnosis vs. when symptoms are impacting your quality of life
- Support in conjunction with significant treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy
- Anticipating symptoms and having tools and/or prescriptions in place ahead of time vs. prolonged discomfort
- Care focused not only on the physical aspects of cancer but also on coping skills and psychosocial concerns, which may help your mood earlier in their diagnosis
- Helping your family, loved ones, and caregivers organize your calendar, surroundings, and processes to offer you a restful and more comfortable recovery after procedures or treatments
- Easing both your anxiety as a patient and the anxiety of your loved ones with both real-time and future planning for aspects of your care such as pain management, emotional support and quality of life
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