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PrintPalliative care for cancer patients
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Editor's note: November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.
By Sonya Goins
Patients undergoing cancer treatments often use palliative medicine to cope with nausea, fatigue and other bothersome symptoms.
Palliative medicine is a medical specialty whose main focus is supporting patients and families/caregivers who need help managing symptoms related to cancer or side effects related to the treatment of cancer, along with other life-limiting diseases.
Dr. Touré Barksdale, a Mayo Clinic cancer rehabilitation and palliative medicine specialist, explains the benefits of palliative care.
Patients with cancer not only have to worry about fighting the disease, but they also must battle the cumbersome side effects, like fatigue and other symptoms related to cancer and its treatment.
"Side effects from cancer and treatment of cancer, such as pain, delirium, nausea, vomiting and debility, can also contribute to their cancer-related fatigue," says Dr. Barksdale.
Palliative care provides relief
Palliative medicine is a crucial component of cancer treatment. Its main purpose is to improve the patient's overall well-being.
"Whether that's more holistic care through integrative and complementary medicine, more Western-based medicines, psychological care, music therapy, aromatherapy, Reiki, tai chi — we have lots of things we can do to help reduce suffering," explains Dr. Barksdale.
Palliative care is not the same as hospice care. The latter focuses on making patients comfortable and managing symptoms nearing the end of life when further curative treatments are no longer available.
"Palliative care, to me, is hope because what we're doing is we're improving your quality of life," says Dr. Barksdale.
This type of care is available at any stage of cancer treatment.
Learn more
Learn more about palliative care and find a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic.
Join the Cancer: Managing Symptoms Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic for patients and caregivers.
Also, read these articles:
- Radiation therapy for cancer pain relief
- Achieving quality of life for people with advanced cancer through individualized care
A version of this article was originally published on the Mayo Clinic News Network.
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