My visit with the palliative care NP

A lot of people think palliative care means hospice, but it's not that.

This is how Cleveland Clinic explains it:

Palliative care provides symptom relief and support to people living with chronic conditions. Its benefits extend to caretakers, too. Palliative care isn’t the same as hospice care, and it’s not just for people with terminal illnesses. If you’re living with a life-altering condition, palliative care can improve your health and overall well-being.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is a specialized form of care that provides symptom relief, comfort and support to people living with serious or chronic illnesses. It also provides support to caregivers and those impacted by a loved one’s condition. Simply stated, it’s about improving your quality of life.

Palliative care is an extra layer of support on top of the care you already receive. It focuses on your own unique care goals in a way that aligns with your values. Unlike hospice— which people often associate with end-of-life care — palliative care can benefit people of any age and at any stage of a serious illness.

Palliative comes from the Latin word, palliare, which means “to cloak.” The word’s origins provide clues about the role of palliative care. Imagine an extra layer of comfort and protection shielding you from the harms associated with illness. This support is what palliative care is all about.

Who is palliative care for?

You can receive palliative care no matter your age, prognosis or whether you’re receiving curative treatments.

Because my sister has volunteered with hospice, she knew what it was and to ask my doctor for me to receive palliative care. The person I met with is a nurse practitioner (NP) but she's turning this area's patients over to someone else after January 6th. This new palliative care provider will be an MD. (Not that it matters to me. I've had excellent NPs before).

The very cool thing was that this current palliative care NP spent A WHOLE HOUR with me! She asked lots of questions about my symptoms and situation and how I'm doing with this cancer diagnosis and treatment. She was kind and caring and compassionate. And perceptive.

Short version is that she and then the MD who takes over for her will be in charge of treating my pain and my cancer-medicine side effects. She'll prescribe all of the meds in those categories while my oncologist will prescribe the meds that treat the cancer. That makes sense to me. Pain and nausea and constipation are the big three so I have prescriptions to help with each one.

She also is referring me for physical therapy and for mental health therapy. I figure it's best to take care of both aspects of this cancer journey. The only challenge of this is that it adds more places for me to need rides to and from.

Palliative care exists to help make this cancer journey more comfortable. I like having support for me as a whole person, not just the cancer aspect of the journey. I left the appointment yesterday feeling encouraged and supported.

Which is what palliative care is all about!