Overview
Palliative care is person-centred care that helps people live as fully and comfortably as possible. It is sometimes known as supportive care.
Palliative care can be used at any stage of advanced cancer to help manage symptoms and improve wellbeing - not just at end of life. The aim is to improve your quality of life.
Because everyone is different, palliative care varies from person to person. It can be given at home, in hospital, in a palliative care unit (also called a hospice), in residential aged care or through community-based palliative care providers.
Find helpful information below, or call Cancer Connect on 13 11 20 to talk it through with our qualified professionals.
What's in this booklet
About palliative care
Palliative care offers support to meet your physical, emotional, cultural, social and spiritual needs.
Common questions
Find out what it means if your treatment team suggest palliative care, where you can have palliative care, who will look after you, and if you have to pay for it.
Practical and legal issues
Planning for the future can help you feel more in control. Your palliative care team can support you with advance care planning based on what is important to you.
Treatment
Understand how palliative care treatments like surgery, drug therapies and radiation therapy, can help with symptoms like pain, fatigue and breathlessness.
Palliative care for young people
Learn about how children and teenagers are supported while having palliative care.
Caring for someone with advanced cancer
Carers play a key role in palliative care. Find out how to take care of yourself, take a short break using respite care, and get emotional support.
Questions for your health professionals
It can be a good idea to prepare a list of questions before your appointments. See our list of questions about palliative care.
Seeking support
Find where to access palliative care services as well as useful online resources.
Find support services
Find the right services for your needs, wherever you are in Australia
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