What Does It Involve?
Palliative care is the type of medical treatment provided to those who are suffering from illnesses such as lung cancer. It is delivered by a team of experts who have received specialized training. The team works in collaboration with your oncologist and other healthcare professionals to deliver the best possible treatment. The ultimate objective is to improve the overall quality of life for you and your family. It is acceptable for people of any age and at any stage of their condition.
Coping with Pain and Discomfort
When chemotherapy is used in the treatment of lung cancer, palliative care is provided to help patients cope with the side effects of the chemotherapy, which include nausea, vomiting, discomfort, exhaustion, constipation and diarrhea, depression, and sleeplessness.
Palliative care might also be beneficial in the management of pain following surgery. Around 75% of advanced cancer patients are in pain. [1] Pain-induced inactivity, hunger, and sleep deprivation can further weaken already frail individuals.
Techniques to increase analgesia include cognitive/behavioural methods, physical modalities, and palliative radiation/antineoplastic therapy. However, for convenience and economy, oral drugs are often chosen. Most people who cannot take drugs orally can have them transdermally or rectally administered. Analgesics should be given continuously, with additional dosages as needed. The patient should be provided with a documented pain management strategy.
Adjuvant medications may be utilized to boost pain drug effectiveness, for example, corticosteroids which can improve mood and reduce inflammation.
Patients experiencing intractable pain despite using all known and familiar treatments should be referred to a pain management clinic.
Coping with Anxiety
Treatment for anxiety in palliative care can take many forms, from medicine to massage, relaxation techniques, and guided imagery, among other approaches.
When a person is diagnosed with lung cancer, they experience feelings of worry, dread, and sadness. Patients with lung cancer sometimes attribute their condition to their own actions. Palliative care can assist in the exploration of these emotions in order to reach acceptance and tranquillity in one’s life.
Palliative care teams and social workers can assist family members in communicating with their loved ones, and they are essential in developing a discharge plan for you that is tailored to your specific requirements as well as the needs of your family. First and foremost, the palliative care team is concerned with ensuring that you and your family can live life to the fullest extent possible from the time of diagnosis onward.
Palliative care is not synonymous with hospice care.
Hospice care, on the other hand, provides palliative care to terminally ill patients. If you or a loved one need palliative care, ask your doctor to recommend you to a qualified provider.