Palliative Care is Unique to You
- Studies have shown that palliative care can be incredibly helpful when it’s incorporated from the very start of your cancer journey
- The term “palliative care” encompasses many different helpful support services, from symptom management to emotional support and financial help
- Palliative care plans are tailored to address each woman’s specific concerns and symptoms
“What palliative care comprises for any individual patient would be different,” says Dr. Elizabeth Kvale, director of the Supportive Care and Survivorship Program and medical director of the cancer treatment program at LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes at UT Health Austin. “Because each patient comes into care with unique needs and unique strengths.”
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As a palliative care specialist herself, Dr. Kvale shares that she usually spends her initial visits with women focusing on their symptom management. “But as I get to know a person better and understand what’s important to them, we can begin to work on other issues that might impact their quality of life, their emotional wellbeing, [and] thinking about what’s important to them,” she says.
One thing that’s really important to bear in mind with palliative care is that it’s meant to be a helpful, supportive service through the entirety of your cancer journey — including the beginning. A lot of people associate palliative care with end-of-life care, but studies have actually shown that when patients with cancer see a palliative care team from the point of diagnosis, they see an uptick in survival times, not just in the quality of life.
“Palliative care is focused on taking care of the whole person and also their family,” Dr. Kvale says. “The unit of care is really the person who has cancer rather than the disease.”
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