Former Custer County public health nurse Beth Green shares insights into the benefits of palliative care, as distinguished from hospice care, and addresses some common misunderstandings. We are grateful that Beth has continued to learn and generously share from personal experiences on her own cancer journey over the past two years. You may also access a recording of this story here.
Hello, this is Beth Green. I have been an RN since 1978 and I’ve been asked today to talk to you a little bit about palliative care. I am no expert. In fact, I am learning along with you, but hope you will find this short overview helpful.
Most people don’t know what palliative care is. I learned a lot from Kate Bowler’s podcast, Everything Happens on October 15, 2024, when she interviewed Dr. Kathryn Mannix, a pioneer from the UK in this specialty. Dr. Mannix shared that this is a newer field that became an official specialty in 1990. Palliative care uses an interdisciplinary approach – calling on assorted specialists in both medical and psychology fields to work together to relieve patient suffering.
The focus of palliative care is on choices – offering practical steps to help people and their loved ones navigate caregiving for maximal well-being. With a better sense of what limited choices may be available, families are more equipped to manage pain, fear, anxiety, and other emotions that arise from uncertainty. First and foremost, palliative care aims to relieve suffering and help patients and families set realistic goals.
Palliative care is not only for dying patients or those living with a terminal illness. Care may also support someone with a long-term chronic illness that is limiting their level of participation in everyday life. Specialists will suggest adjustments to daily routines, including mobility support, tools to manage pain, and practical steps to help both caregivers and patients better understand their options.
It is important to note that palliative care is not giving up! When side effects become too much for a patient to bear or a cure is too far off, palliative care doctors can help bridge your needs and goals with available treatment options. They can suggest small, but impactful, changes to make your life more comfortable. This is customized care for those facing incurable, advanced illnesses and for those wrestling with long-term chronic conditions.
Palliative care wraps you in a holistic care approach and walks right along your side as you go through treatments managed by other doctors. If you can’t be cured, which is generally the case, you’re not obliged to die because you’ve been under palliative care. However, with informed understanding, you can consider limitations and choose a direction. Many people choose the path of “I want to live as long as I can.” Others determine, “I want the best quality of life while I’m alive.” There is a tradeoff, and often through experimentation, palliative specialists will help you find the best path forward. There is not just one answer and you, the patient, can be in charge.
Honesty throughout this process is very important. Sometimes families want to protect the patient by withholding troubling information, but a patient deserves to know their care options as their condition unfolds. A palliative care specialist can facilitate difficult conversations with a spouse, family, or friends. They may also offer bereavement preparation for you and your loved ones.
Finding access to palliative care in our small, rural area may not be the easiest thing. You may want to go through a centralized healthcare system, like UC Health, or CommonSpirit, or wherever your primary care doctor or specialist is based. Simply ask if they provide or can recommend palliative care services. In our community, we are fortunate to have access to two local hospice agencies; both Fremont Regional and Sangre de Cristo offer palliative care. I encourage you to contact them directly to find out what services they provide under palliative care.
Often, doing everything is a hope pinned on a cure. And doing nothing is despair. Palliative care can help you do what you can, and let your hope evolve. Many people have a remission; they can have an improved quality of life. Holistic care can help keep relationships intact and prepare patients to transfer hopes and dreams to loved ones so they might continue to live, rejoice, and love.
