Palliative Care

Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people living with a serious illness like cancer. You might also hear it called supportive care or symptom management.

You may get palliative care at any point — from the time of your cancer diagnosis, throughout treatment, and beyond. Knowing what it is, what to expect, and its role in cancer care can play a big role in improving your overall well-being.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is a special approach to caring for anyone with a serious illness, including cancer. The goal is to help a person live as well as they can for as long as they can.

A palliative care team will work to improve your quality of life by helping you and your caregivers manage the symptoms of your illness and the side effects of treatment. Advance care planning is also a part of palliative care.

Who should get it?

• Anyone with a serious illness can have palliative care.
• It can be given at any age and at any stage of the illness.
• It should be used any time a person needs extra support or has symptoms that need to be controlled.

Any person who is diagnosed with a serious illness and has symptoms should get palliative care. People with complex medical problems like heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, or cancer should get palliative care.

These serious illnesses often lead to physical, emotional, spiritual, and social problems that go beyond what the medical team can provide.

The difference between palliative and hospice care

Palliative care is sometimes confused with hospice care. They are alike in some ways, but they aren’t the same thing.

How they are alike

The goal of both palliative care and hospice care is to provide a better quality of life and relieve symptoms and side effects for people with a serious illness. With both services, special teams care for the whole person.

Hospice services often include palliative care.

How they are different

Palliative care is provided at any stage of a serious illness.

• Palliative care can start as soon as you are diagnosed. It can be given at the same time as treatment and continue after treatment ends. The palliative care team works with your other providers to manage your illness.

Hospice care is provided during the last phase of an incurable illness or near the end of life.

• Hospice care is given when there is no active or curative treatment. For example, some people with advanced or metastatic cancer get hospice services. “Treatment” during hospice focuses on managing symptoms and side effects. The hospice team manages most of your care and talks with your other providers when needed.

To learn more, see Hospice Care.

Cancer and palliative care

Palliative care is recommended as a standard part of care for people with cancer. It doesn’t treat the cancer itself, but it can be offered at any time during the cancer journey. Often, it is offered as soon as cancer is diagnosed.

Experts suggest people with advanced cancer should meet with palliative care within 8 weeks of a cancer diagnosis.

The effects of cancer and its treatment vary from person to person. Your palliative care team will look at your situation and work with you and your caregivers to meet your needs. The goal is to prevent and/or treat symptoms and side effects as early as possible. 

The palliative care team can help you:

• Control physical symptoms and side effects
• Manage emotions that come with a cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Understand any spiritual concerns
• Deal with financial, work, and insurance issues
• Fill out advance directives and other forms
• Transition to hospice care if treatment stops working or your cancer worsens

They can also help your loved ones by:

• Showing your family ways to cope with life and changes
• Supporting the needs of your caregivers

Special considerations for children, teens, and young adults

Benefits of palliative care

Many studies show the benefits of palliative care for people with cancer, their families, and their caregivers.

Less time in ICU and ER: People who have palliative care visits while in the hospital spend less time in intensive care units (ICU). They are also less likely to visit the emergency room (ER) or be re-admitted to the hospital after they go home.

Improved quality of life and symptom management: People with chronic illnesses like cancer have less severe symptoms if they get palliative care. They have a better quality of life and less pain, shortness of breath, depression, and nausea.

Better emotional health: Research also shows that people with cancer have better emotional health if they receive palliative care. This may be because their medical care tends to better align with their values, goals, and preferences. Their families also feel more satisfied with their care.

Extended survival: Some studies also suggest that starting palliative care soon after a cancer diagnosis may extend survival.

Who provides palliative care?

Palliative care is most often offered and started by your cancer treatment team. They may provide some palliative care, like helping you manage symptoms and side effects like nausea or pain. They will continue this while you get treatment.

Often, the treatment team will also refer you to a team of palliative care specialists for more services.

This palliative care team typically includes:

• Palliative care doctors
• Nurse practitioners (NP) or physician assistants (PA)
• Palliative care nurses
• Social workers
• Dietitians
• Patient navigators
• Chaplains
• Music therapists

For children and adolescents, the palliative care team might include other providers such as child-life specialists.

Many hospitals and oncology clinics have palliative care teams. Because a palliative care team includes many types of professionals, the team as a whole can better help you with issues that are harder to manage, like severe pain, family distress, insurance concerns, and complex medical problems.

Where does it take place?

Palliative care is provided in many different places. You may see your palliative care team at the:

• Hospital
• ER
• Cancer center
• Outpatient clinic
• Your home

Having palliative care visit your home is becoming more common, because it isn’t always easy for people with cancer to get to a cancer center. Your palliative care team will come to wherever you call home. This can include:

• Nursing homes
• Assisted living facilities
• Retirement communities

Be sure to check with your palliative care team to see where your visits will be.

Does insurance cover palliative care?

Palliative care can be covered by both private insurance and government insurance plans (like Medicaid, Medicare, or VA). The exact care covered may vary depending on your insurance coverage, illness, location of care, and the type of care provided (like nursing, doctor/ NP visits, social work, or chaplain).

Check with your health insurance company for details about what is covered and what is not. Sometimes, your palliative care team can help as well.

Finding a palliative care program

In most cases, your cancer care team can start palliative services and refer you to the palliative care team at your cancer treatment center. If your center doesn’t provide palliative services, you may be referred to another agency that does.

If your cancer care team doesn’t offer you palliative care, you or your family can ask for the help you need. It’s important to advocate for yourself.

If you want to learn more about palliative care or are interested in these services, let your cancer care team know.

You may also find palliative care information and referral services by searching:

• ACS: Find Support Programs and Services in Your Area
• Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC): Palliative Care Provider Directory

It’s also important to contact your insurance company to check if you are eligible for these services and to get a list of palliative care providers, teams, or centers in your insurance network.

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