Having palliative care

Many people fear hearing the words palliative care because they think it is just for people who are dying, but it's not. Palliative care is useful at all stages of advanced cancer, and involves a range of services that can help with lots of things like pain management or getting around more easily.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is person-centred care that helps people with a progressive life-limiting illness to live as fully and as comfortably as possible. Palliative care can link you with support. For example, you may need help to move around your home more safely. The main goal is to maintain your quality of life by identifying and meeting your physical, emotional, cultural, social and spiritual needs. Palliative care also provides support to families and carers.

Who is in a palliative care team?

Your palliative care may be led by your GP or community nurse, or by the specialist palliative care team in your area. The team may include doctors, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and spiritual care practitioners. They may also link you to a counsellor, psychologist or other health professionals.

Where is palliative care usually given?

The palliative care team will help you work out the best place for your care. This may be at home supported by community palliative care services, in hospital, at a residential aged care facility or in a palliative care unit (hospice). Many services – including things like pain relief – are now available to you at home. 

How can palliative care help?

Palliative care involves a range of services that will be tailored to your individual needs. There are various ways it can help, including:

• relief of pain, breathlessness, nausea and  other symptoms
• help organising equipment for home  (e.g. wheelchairs, special beds)
• links to other services such as home help and financial support
• counselling, grief and bereavement support
• referrals to respite care services
• volunteer services trained in palliative care.

When can I start?

Depending on your needs, you may use palliative care services occasionally or continuously, for a few weeks or months. The number of people receiving palliative care for several years is increasing. Contacting the palliative care team early means that you can find out what the different team members do and see which services might be useful now or in the future. This will vary according to how you feel, what problems you have, and how your carers are managing.

Where to find out more

For information about palliative care and how it may be able to help you, visit Palliative Care Australia. To find a palliative care service in your local area, search the online directory – or you could speak to your doctor or nurse.

For more, see Palliative care.