Understanding Palliative Care: A Guide for Families
When someone in your family is living with a serious or life-limiting illness, there can be a lot to understand. There may be questions about symptoms, treatment, caring for someone at home and what support is available.
Palliative care is there to help patients and families through these challenges.
It focuses on quality of life and looks at the person as a whole - including their physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Palliative care can also support family members and caregivers as they navigate the experience alongside their loved one.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialised care for people living with life-threatening or life-limiting illness. Its focus is on preventing and relieving suffering, managing symptoms and helping people live as well as possible.
It is not only about managing physical symptoms. Palliative care can also address emotional, social and spiritual needs, while helping families and caregivers cope with the challenges that illness can bring.
Palliative care can be provided alongside other treatments. It is not only for the final stages of life and does not mean that other treatment has to stop.
The World Health Organization recommends considering palliative care early in the course of illness when it is needed.
What does palliative care look at?
Every person is different, so the support they need will also be different.
Palliative care may help with:
Physical needs:
Managing pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue and other symptoms that affect comfort and quality of life.
Emotional needs:
Providing support when someone is dealing with fear, uncertainty, changes in their health or the emotional impact of illness.
Social needs:
Helping patients and families with practical challenges and changes that may affect everyday life.
Spiritual needs:
Supporting the beliefs, values, questions and concerns that may become important during serious illness.
Palliative care uses a team approach, with different professionals working together according to the needs of the patient and family.
Who Can Benefit from Palliative Care?
Palliative care can be appropriate for people living with a range of serious illnesses and conditions.
These can include:
Cancer
Heart disease
Chronic respiratory diseases
Kidney/organ failure
Neurological disorders
etc.
The need for palliative care is not determined by one diagnosis alone. A person's symptoms, needs and circumstances are also important.
Does palliative care mean that someone is dying?
This is one of the most common misunderstandings about palliative care.
Palliative care can be provided at different stages of serious illness and can take place alongside other treatments. It is focused on improving quality of life and relieving suffering, rather than being limited to the final days or weeks of life.
For some people, palliative care may become the main focus of care as an illness progresses. For others, it may be introduced earlier to help manage symptoms and support the patient and family.
How does palliative care support families?
Serious illness affects more than the person receiving care. Families and caregivers can also experience stress, uncertainty, tiredness and emotional strain.
Palliative care recognises these needs too.
Families may receive help with understanding what is happening, managing practical challenges, supporting their loved one and preparing for changes in care. Support may also continue through bereavement when needed.
When should a family ask about palliative care?
There is no single moment when every family should seek palliative care.
It may be worth asking about palliative care when:
symptoms are becoming difficult to manage
everyday activities are becoming harder
a family is struggling to provide the care needed at home
there are concerns about comfort or quality of life
a patient or family needs additional emotional or practical support or
the family simply wants to understand what support is available.
Speaking to a healthcare professional is a good place to start if you are unsure whether palliative care may be appropriate.
How Sungardens can help
Sungardens Palliative Care provides support to patients and families across Greater Pretoria, Mamelodi and Centurion.
Our services include Home-Based Care, an In-Patient Unit, Day Care, Family Support, and Wellness & Bereavement Support.
If you are looking for support for yourself, a family member or someone in your care and are not sure where to start, our team can help you understand what support may be available.
You don't have to work it out alone.
Contact Sungardens Palliative Care
012 348 1934
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