If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness, you need to be prepared to make changes to your life to protect your health and well-being. One important step you’ll need to take is getting the right medical support system in place. An essential part of that support system will be your palliative care team.
Getting compassionate, comprehensive palliative care can help you to continue living your best life as you work to heal your illness. Keep reading to learn more about Edinburg palliative care services.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is healthcare given to patients with serious illnesses. Palliative care often includes things like providing symptom relief, illness education, and social and spiritual support. Palliative care is usually provided by a team of medical and administrative professionals, including doctors, nurses, and social workers. You may also need to seek care from a palliative care specialist.
You can ask your doctor for more information about what types of palliative care you may need.
How Is Palliative Care Different From Hospice Care?
Another type of care that is often included in the same conversations as palliative is hospice care, but there are some very important distinctions. Palliative care and hospice care are similar in that they provide comprehensive medical and social support to those with serious illnesses, but hospice care is specifically meant for those with terminal illnesses.
While palliative care may include efforts to treat or reverse the effects of the patient’s illness, during hospice care, all attempts to cure the illness have stopped.
If your palliative care team determines that your curative treatments aren’t helping your condition, you may need to transition into hospice care. Generally, hospice care is recommended for those with an expected six months left to live.
Who Needs Palliative Care?
Palliative care is an umbrella term that includes care for a wide range of different conditions. A few common conditions that often require palliative care include the following:
- Cancer
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Heart disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Lung disease
- COVID-19
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- HIV and AIDS
Keep in mind that this is not a complete list of all of the types of conditions that may need palliative care. To learn what care you need, you can talk to your doctor.
Get Comprehensive Palliative Care in Edinburg
The importance of your health can’t be overstated. Your health is what allows you to experience and enjoy the world. If you’re struggling with a serious illness, protecting and caring for your health has never been more important.
If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness, you can come see the team at Family Medicine and Geriatric Center to learn about what palliative care and support you need. We can provide you with the treatment, education, and guidance you need to nurture your health as much as possible.