This article was from eHospice.
Palliative care is about living, compassion, dignity and person-centered care, said palliative care physician Dr Jose Pereira. If the “p-word” is introduced only when physicians have given up on attempts to cure or control the disease, the anxiety will only increase. He further pointed out that palliative care and treatment to cure and control go hand in hand as the principles of palliative care can be applied while treatments are underway. In studies where palliative care techniques that are patient-centred are employed, patients have lived almost three months longer with a much better quality of life, said Pereira.
Palliative care is also often restricted to places such as palliative care units with specialised palliative care physicians and nurses, a model which guarantees limited access. Instead, Pereira added, every cardiologist, oncologist, kidney specialist and family doctor needs to start incorporating palliative care techniques into their treatment. He noted that Canada’s expertise in palliative is among the best in the world, but only 30% of Canadians have access to it.
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