my uncle is now suffuring from cancer, he has severe pain.isit effective that the treatment of palliative care?
2006-11-20 00:48:53 · 6 answers · asked by nijas 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
I am sorry to hear that your uncle is in pain. I don't know what kind of cancer your uncle has, but the pain can usually be well controlled.
Palliative care means treatment to make the person as comfortable as possible and to provide the best quality of life possible. My husband has Stage 4 metastatic cancer - the cancer has spread to his bones and liver. Cancer in the bones is very painful, but his pain is very well controlled. His treatment has been considered pallliative for over a year now - we know that it will not cure his cancer, but it does control his symptoms and give him ease and make it possible for him to get out and even do short trips.
A big part of palliative care is pain relief. For the most part the pain of cancer can be well controlled so your uncle should not have to suffer pain. My husband takes a lot of pain medication, and they make him sleepy sometimes, especially for a few days when the prescription has to be increased. The papin medications used for cancer pain often have side effects that then need to be addressed, constipation being one of them.
My husband has had both radiation and chemotherapy as part of his palliative care. The purpose of each is to give him more quality time, not to kill the cancer. The process of the chemotherapy was quite exhausting for him, but now that it is over, he feels better and is able to do more things.
Seeing a dietician may be part of palliative care. People who are very ill and in pain and fighting cancer have some special needs in terms of diet and nutrition. For example, because the cancer is in my husband's bones he gets an intravenous bone strengthener once a month, and takes calcium and vitamin D. A side effect of the chemotherapy has been fluid retention, so he takes a diuretic for that, which means he has to have orange juice and bananas everyday for the potassium.
In its final stages palliative care keeps the person comfortable in their final days. But because care is termed "palliative" it does not mean the person will die tomorrow or next week, or even anytime soon necessarily.
It is most important for you and your family to know that if your uncle is in pain, something can be done about that. Does someone accompany him to his apointments? He may need that support to make sure his oncology team knows what is happening with him - if he is on a lot of medication he may not remember to tell them everything. We see a pain management team regularly as part of mny husband's care. Ask is there is such a team available to see your uncle.
I hope these thoughts have been of some help to you. Take care. You will be in our thoughts.
2006-11-20 04:55:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
Sorry about your uncle. No one should ever suffer with cancer. There are options, and one of them is palliative care which handles symptoms and pain management.
Palliative care is essentially giving patients treatment to alleviate their symptoms but not as in a curative way. If his cancer is no longer curative than his physician or oncologist should be talking to family members about what steps to take next.
They will treat any symptoms that cause him pain or which may prolong his life if he asks (but will not cure his condition). He should have an advanced directive (what to do if he stops breathing) so that unnecessary measures are not taken to prolong his life.
At some point, if his condition is terminal than he needs to request Hospice care. Hospice care prepares the patient and his family for the end of life. Hospice care can also include palliative care and may be the best place for him now. That is his decision and his families.
There are some excellent resources about palliative and hospice care that you or your uncle should read:
Growth House
http://www.growthhouse.org/
National Hospice and Palliative Care
http://www.nhpco.org/t
Pain management for end of life
http://www.painfoundation.org/page.asp?file=EOL/Intro.htm
Hope you can help your uncle manage his pain as he takes this journey. Peace to you all.
2006-11-20 01:07:09 · answer #2 · answered by Panda 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
palliative care is supportive care not curative. It consists of methods to relieve symptoms not cure the problem. One generally will hear this term when nothing else can be done to help cure the problem .They have already tried surgery, chemo/radiation and it not worked or either the disease process was already too far gone in it's end stage when diagnosed. Palliative care not only consists of pain control but family support also. It helps the patient and family deal with the social/mental stresses that happen. Palliative care is not aimed at prolonging death or speeding up the process but helping the patient and family through it.
2006-11-20 01:03:14 · answer #3 · answered by twildman22 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Palliative care is almost the equivalent of hospice. Palliative means to keep the patient as comfortable as possible once all other forms of modern medicine to cure his disease are exhausted to improve quality of life and not necessarily prolong it. It's more to manage pain and comfort than to provide a cure. In rare instances it can be used in combination with curative thearpies. Good luck to you and i hope your uncle is as pain free as possible.
2006-11-20 00:57:18 · answer #4 · answered by Weasel 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Palliative care involves providing comfort to ill patients who's condition Will not improve with medicine. Mostly it involves keeping the patient clean, free from bed sores and other ailments related to decreased activity, and pain management. If the treatment your father is receiving isn't controlling his pain, you need to speak directly to the doctor who is treating him, and express all your questions and concerns. Your father will either need a different pain medication or a change in dosage.
2006-11-20 00:54:59 · answer #5 · answered by IAINTELLEN 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My husband is 76. He has all kinds of things wrong with him. He is in a nursing home He is Incontinent. He takes insulin for diabetes he is quite heavy He cant walk He has AFib He has bad tremors which make it difficult to eat And lately he has been struggling with swallowing correctly Therefore he has to have most food cut up in bites and his drinks all thickened with Nectar.. Is Pallative care something he should think about He keeps saying to nurses Why don t u just let me die?
2017-03-09 19:57:45 · answer #6 · answered by Judy 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋