Serious illnesses can cause physical symptoms, such as pain, nausea or fatigue. You may also have psychological symptoms like depression or anxiety. The treatments for your disease may cause symptoms or side effects. Palliative care relieves symptoms without curing your disease.
Hospice care, care at the end of life, always includes palliative care. But you may receive palliative care at any stage of a disease. The goal is to make you comfortable and improve your quality of life.
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JAMA Patient Page: Palliative Care(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/11/1428.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/296/11/1428/DC1/1
- What Is Palliative Care(Center to Advance Palliative Care) - http://www.getpalliativecare.org/whatis
- What Is Palliative Care?(Beth Israel Medical Center, Dept. of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care) - http://www.stoppain.org/palliative_care/content/pallcare/palliativecare.asp
- What Should You Know about Palliative Care?(Center to Advance Palliative Care) - Links to PDF - http://www.getpalliativecare.org/download/GetPCHandout.pdf
- National Scorecard Ranks Palliative Care across Country(10/02/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69989.html
- Music Therapy Improves Well-Being of Very Ill Patients(09/09/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69084.html
- Depression in Palliative Care(American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine) - Links to PDF - http://www.aahpm.org/pdf/depression.pdf
- Offering Spiritual Support for Family or Friends(National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) - Links to PDF - http://www.caringinfo.org/UserFiles/File/faith_brochure.pdf
- Assisting Families to Manage Fatigue(Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.hpna.org/pdf/TeachingSheet_assistingfamiliestomanagefatigue.pdf
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Cancer: Palliative Care(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/cancer/treatment/722.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/cancer/treatment/722.printerview.html
- Dementia(Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.hpna.org/pdf/TeachingSheet_dementia.pdf
- Food and Fluid Issues at End of Life(Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.hpna.org/pdf/TeachingSheet_foodandfluidissues.pdf
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JAMA Patient Page: Palliative Sedation(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/294/14/1850.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/294/14/1850/DC1/1
- Managing Anxiety/Uneasy Feelings(Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.hpna.org/pdf/TeachingSheet_ManagingAnxiety.pdf
- Managing Constipation(Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.hpna.org/pdf/TeachingSheet_managingconstipation.pdf
- How to Get Palliative Care(Center to Advance Palliative Care) - http://www.getpalliativecare.org/howtoget
- Palliative Care: Treatment Approaches(Beth Israel Medical Center, Dept. of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care) - http://www.stoppain.org/palliative_care/content/pallcare/treatment.asp
- Is Palliative Care Right for You?(Center to Advance Palliative Care) - http://www.getpalliativecare.org/rightforyou
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Palliative Care
(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=%22palliative+care%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Ethics in the midst of therapeutic evolution. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762603&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Healthcare providers must offer palliative treatment to parents of neonates... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762601&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: What accounts for differences or disparities in pediatric palliative and... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762528&tool=MedlinePlus
- Palliative Care -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=palliative+care[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(case+reports[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+letter[pt])&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Glossary(Beth Israel Medical Center, Dept. of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care) - http://www.stoppain.org/main_site/content/glossary.asp
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physician Directory(American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine) - http://www.association-office.com/ABHPM/etools/publicdir/search.cfm
- Find a Provider: Member Hospice and Palliative Care Programs(National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) - http://iweb.nhpco.org/iweb/Membership/MemberDirectorySearch.aspx?pageid=3257&showTitle=1
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization - http://www.nhpco.org/
- Palliative Care and Hospice(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=16
- Hospice Care - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hospicecare.html
- Pain - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pain.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
- Personal Health Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/personalhealthissues.html