Palliative Care

Palliative care is the medical specialty focused on relief of the pain, anxiety and other symptoms of serious, life-threatening illness. While your physician focuses on treating your illness, our goal is to support the best possible quality of life for you and your family. Palliative care can be provided at the same time as other treatments and is appropriate at any point in an illness.

Four things you should know about Palliative Care:

1. Palliative care is not the same as hospice care.

2. Hospice care is only one part of palliative care. Unlike hospice care, which is intended for people in the final months of life, you can receive palliative treatments at the same time you are receiving curative care.

3. It’s never too early to begin palliative care. Palliative care can occur at the same time as all other treatments for your illness. It does not depend upon your prognosis, so there’s no reason to wait. Pain and other symptoms affect your quality of life and the stress can have a big impact on your family.

4. Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover palliative care services.

Palliative care offers

• Expert treatment for relief of your symptoms
• Close communication about your condition and choices for medical care
• Emotional and spiritual support for you and your family when making difficult medical decisions
• Help improving your body’s tolerance for medications
• Coordination of care among all of your health care providers
• Support in resolving questions about goals of care

Relief from symptoms, including

• Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Constipation
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Numbness
• Problems with sleep
• Anxiety and/or depression

Getting Palliative Care is easy.

Ask your doctor for a referral or call us directly at 718-250-8437.