Palliative Care: MedlinePlus

Palliative Care: MedlinePlus

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

• Palliative care - fear and anxiety
• Palliative care - fluid, food, and digestion
• Palliative care - managing pain
• Palliative care - shortness of breath
• Palliative care - what the final days are like
• What is palliative care?

Related Health Topics

• Hospice Care
• Pain

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on Palliative Care

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• Palliative Care Eases Symptoms, Enhances Lives
• Palliative Care: A Spectrum of Support
• Palliative Care: Increasing the Quality of Life for Patients and Families...
• Palliative Care: Video Tells a Mother's Story of Caring Support

Disclaimers

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines.

Summary

Palliative care is treatment of the discomfort, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. It provides relief from distressing symptoms including

• Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Constipation
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Problems with sleep

It can also help you deal with the side effects of the medical treatments you're receiving.

Hospice care, care at the end of life, always includes palliative care. But you may receive palliative care at any stage of an illness. The goal is to make you comfortable and improve your quality of life.

NIH: National Institute of Nursing Research

Start Here

• Palliative Care (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
• Palliative Care Questions and Answers (Hospice Care Comparison)(National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)
• Palliative Care: The Relief You Need When You're Experiencing Symptoms of Serious Illness (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDFAlso in Spanish
• Palliative or Comfort Care (Administration for Community Living) - PDF

Related Issues

• How to Get It -- Step 2: Meet the Palliative Care Team (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
• Offering Spiritual Support for Family or Friends (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) - PDF

Specifics

• Morphine: Myths and Reality (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
• Pain Control: Support for People with Cancer  (National Cancer Institute)Also in Spanish
• Palliative Care in Cancer  (National Cancer Institute)Also in Spanish
• Shortness-of-Breath (Center to Advance Palliative Care)
• Side Effects (Management) (American Society of Clinical Oncology)

Health Check Tools

• Is Palliative Care Right for You? (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

Videos and Tutorials

• Pediatric Palliative Care: A Personal Story   (National Institute of Nursing Research)
• Videos, Podcasts and Livechats  (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Palliative Care  (National Institutes of Health)

Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Use of Palliative Care Earlier in the Disease Course in... 
• Article: Survival Techniques. 
• Article: Is blogging a new form of communication in palliative health... 
• Palliative Care -- see more articles 

Reference Desk

• Glossary (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

Find an Expert

• Find a Hospice or Palliative Care Provider (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 
• National Institute of Nursing Research 
• Provider Directory (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

Children

• Frequently Asked Questions (Palliative Care: Conversations Matter) (National Institute of Nursing Research)
• Palliative Care (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish
• Palliative Care for Children: Support for the Whole Family When Your Child Is Living with a Serious Illness  (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDFAlso in Spanish
• What is Pediatric Palliative Care? (Center to Advance Palliative Care)

Patient Handouts

• Finding Family Support Resource Card  (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDF
• Palliative care - fear and anxiety (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Palliative care - fluid, food, and digestion (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Palliative care - managing pain (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Palliative care - shortness of breath (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Palliative care - what the final days are like (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Pediatric Palliative Care at a Glance  (National Institute of Nursing Research) - PDFAlso in Spanish
• What is palliative care? (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish