Palliative Care Improves Quality of Life
Posted by Hotel Recovery Blog Manager on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 @ 05:34 PM
A recent study about the benefits of palliative care gained much attention in the media, as it suggests that patients facing a serious illness may feel better and even live longer if they receive palliative care.
The Center to Advance Palliative Care defines palliative care as “the medical specialty focused on improving overall quality of life for patients and families facing serious illness.” Palliative care is coordinated with their other health care providers and focuses on communication and pain and symptom management.
Research published in the most recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients suffering from a form of fast-growing lung cancer reported a better quality of life when they received early palliative care in addition to regular cancer treatment as opposed to cancer treatment alone.
Patients participating in the study who received palliative care self-reported better quality of life including less pain, less nausea, less worry and more mobility. The palliative care group also were less frequently diagnosed with clinical depression and ended up living close to three months longer than those who did not receive palliative care.
The increase in life expectancy comes even though patients receiving palliative care were less likely to choose aggressive treatment at the end of life. Researchers hypothesize that this is because aggressive treatment can be painful, interrupt sleep, and force patients into a hospital where infections or bedsores shorten their life span.
Caring for a loved one with a serious illness is never easy, but palliative care can be an important component of treatment. By minimizing symptoms and helping a seriously ill person remain independent, palliative care can be instrumental in improving overall quality of life.