Understanding palliative care
- Is it for you?
- Why it’s not the opposite to treatment
- The three stages
Most people hear “palliative” and picture the final days. That idea is common, but it’s out of date.
A palliative care approach focuses on quality of life for anyone living with a life-limiting illness, at any prognosis. It can begin at diagnosis, and it can run alongside treatment that’s still aiming for a cure.
Across Canada, care is shifting from a model built around end-of-life crises to one that starts much earlier, so people can live well for as long as possible.
How to know if palliative care is for you?
A life-limiting illness is one that cannot be cured, gets worse over time, and may shorten life.
If you or someone you care for is living with one of these, a palliative approach is available to you now.
Palliative care is not the opposite of treatment
You don’t need to choose between palliative or curative care. They can and often run side by side.
Curative care
Aims to cure, treat, or eliminate a disease
- Acute and emergency care
- Diagnostic tests
- Surgery
- Disease-modifying treatment, like radiation and chemotherapy
Palliative care
Focuses on quality of life
- Looks at the whole person, not just the disease
- Physical, psychological, social, and practical needs
- Can run alongside curative treatment
- You can ask for it yourself
The three stages of palliative care
A palliative care approach
- Living with a life-limiting illness, at any prognosis
- Maximizing quality of life
- Palliative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery
- Making the most of community supports
End-of-life care
- Ongoing medical treatment where it still helps
- Hospice care and home supports
- The condition is no longer curable
- Spiritual and psychosocial support
Terminal care
- Support for the person and their family
- Comfort as the first priority
- Spiritual care
An end-of-life doula can help you think all of this through.
Living well. Planning ahead. Making informed choices.
Questions about palliative care? We can help.