Palliative Care

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

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• 3 Tips for Families Considering Palliative Care
• Comfort Care for Kids and Their Families: A Mother’s Story
• New Research on Palliative Care and COVID-19
• What Is Palliative Care?
• Who’s on Your Palliative Care Team?

Specifics

• Cancer Pain Control: Support for People with Cancer National Cancer Institute
• Morphine: Myths and Reality Center to Advance Palliative Care
• Palliative Care in Cancer National Cancer Institute
• Shortness-of-Breath Center to Advance Palliative Care

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Palliative Care National Institutes of Health

Find an Expert

• Find a Care Provider National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
• National Institute of Nursing Research National Institute of Nursing Research

Patient Handouts

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

Health Check Tools

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

Related Issues

• Meet the Palliative Care Team Center to Advance Palliative Care

Start Here

• Palliative Care Center to Advance Palliative Care
• Palliative Care: The Relief You Need When You Have a Serious Illness National Institute of Nursing Research
• Palliative or Comfort Care Administration for Community Living

Children

• Palliative Care for Children: Support for the Whole Family When Your Child Is Living with a Serious Illness National Institute of Nursing Research
• Resources and Frequently Asked Questions National Institute of Nursing Research

Journal Articles

• Palliative Care