Palliative therapy

Palliative therapy is a form of medical treatment that focuses on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness.

Definition

The World Health Organization defines palliative care as "an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual."

Application

Palliative therapy is applied to a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, chronic diseases such as COPD, Parkinson's disease, ALS, HIV/AIDS, and end-stage kidney disease. It is also used in the management of symptoms in patients who have a terminal illness and are nearing the end of life.

Principles

The principles of palliative therapy include:

• Providing relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
• Affirming life and regarding dying as a normal process
• Integrating the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
• Offering a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
• Offering a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement

See also

• Hospice
• Pain management
• End-of-life care

Palliative therapy Resources
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