Adapted from: National Quality Forum, 2014

Palliative Care is a whole-person care that relieves symptoms of a disease or disorder, whether or not it can be cured. Hospice is a specific type of palliative care for people who likely have six months or less to live. In other words, hospice care is always palliative, but not all palliative care is hospice care.

You will need palliative care if you: 

• Have a disease or injury that is impossible to cure
• Have made multiple trips to the emergency room in the past 6 months
• Have pain or other symptoms that interfere with your daily activities
• Need assistance with setting your goals of care and treatment preferences

Yes! Palliative Care is available for children. There are several palliative care organizations that are providing palliative care for children in Bangladesh.

Patients and their families may require different levels of supportive care or symptom management at different times. Individuals’ responses to life limiting illness vary and people with the same illness may have different needs. Some palliative care may be considered useful in the early stages of an illness but needs might change as the disease stabilises and palliative care services might be reduced or ceased until a further need arises. If patients feel that their illness is preventing them from doing what is important to them or preventing them from achieving their goals, it may be helpful to speak with a health professional – local community palliative care services are able to assist in this area.

While you are in the hospital, your primary physician can help you determine if Palliative Care is right for you. If so, there are palliative care hospitals and organizations nearby your area from where you can get the services. Click here to know your nearest palliative care providing facilities.

After discharge, Palliative Care services may be available to you through outpatient physicians and other agencies.

No! Receiving palliative care does not mean you’re dying. Palliative Care ensures that you will live your life as comfortable as possible.  In fact, recent research indicates that palliative care can help people live longer by addressing pain and reducing stress. Being referred to palliative care does mean that you are dealing with difficult medical problems, ones that can cause pain, emotional uncertainty and personal complications for you and the people you love.

Absolutely! Palliative Care will follow you through all stages of your disease and treatment, and is most beneficial when started early in your disease process.

Other than pain, the Palliative Care team may treat symptoms including:

• Nausea & vomiting
• Fatigue
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Anorexia
• Shortness of breath
• Hiccups
• Anxiety and stress
• Depression, hopelessness, and isolation
• Anticipatory grief and bereavement
• Any other symptoms arising from your disease or treatment

If you are feeling that way, most likely the answer is yes. Feeling overwhelmed is a common challenge of illness and modern treatment. Palliative care services are designed to reduce, not add to, the stress, anxiety and energy-sapping effects of illness. Your appointments will fit your needs and be focused on what matters most to you at that very moment. Together, we can help ease the struggle and exhaustion of being sick. Whenever possible, we link the palliative care appointments with other provider appointments to minimize travel to hospitals, as well as use telephone calls to manage appropriate issues without a visit if possible.

Yes! You can always notify the Emergency Room team or your admitting physician that you would like to be seen by the Palliative Care team.

The Palliative Care team will offer bereavement support, including information, links to support groups, and a celebration of life gathering. 

Everyone involved! Patients as well as family caregivers are the special focus of palliative care. Your doctors and nurses benefit too, because they know they are meeting your needs by providing care and treatment that reduces your suffering and improves your quality of life.

Yes! Your family helps make you who you are, and they play an important part in your health. We welcome the chance to meet and talk with your spouse, parents, siblings, children and others you love.

The palliative care volunteer’s role is to strengthen the ability of the ill person to cope with life, to participate in as much as they can, and to live as fully as possible. Palliative care volunteers aim to support family in dealing with practical and emotional burdens and to assist them in coming to terms with bereavement. 

No, we see people with any life-limiting condition, including those involving any organ:

• Heart (e.g. heart failure)
• Lungs (e.g. COPD or emphysema, lung fibrosis)
• Kidneys (e.g. chronic kidney disease or renal failure)
• Liver (e.g. chronic liver disease)
• Brain or nerves (e.g. dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, progressive supranuclear palsy)