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Who Needs Supportive (or Palliative) Care and When Is it the Right Choice?

If you’re new to palliative care, it can feel confusing at first, especially if you’re not sure if it’s for your senior or not.
Palliative Care McKinney, TX: Palliative Care

When you’re unfamiliar with supportive care, also known as palliative care, it might feel as if this is a treatment plan that is meant for other people, not your senior. Or you might feel that it’s more of an end-of-life therapy, and your senior is not there yet. It is possible, though, that palliative care can do much more for your senior than either of you realize. It’s important to get all the facts. 

Supportive (or Palliative) Care is in Addition to Curative Care 

Unlike hospice, palliative care is a concurrent service that runs alongside your senior’s existing therapies and treatments. It’s another way to help her to deal with chronic or long-lasting illnesses. There are different goals for palliative and curative therapies, but they’re designed to work together. Your senior still sees her current doctors and specialists, she just has an additional team that works with her. 

Supportive (or Palliative) Care is NOT about your Senior Dying 

One misconception about supportive treatment is that it’s about your senior passing away. Your senior may choose palliative treatments when she’s closer to the end of her life, but it isn’t a requirement in order to receive this type of care. Part of the care that your senior receives might be about helping her with the psychological impact of a chronic illness or helping her to make future plans. But that’s not the crux of the care at all. 

Who Needs Supportive/Palliative Care? 

Anyone who is facing a chronic, life-threatening illness can qualify for supportive care. Your senior is not required to give up any treatments that she’s already chosen. The palliative care that she receives is in addition to those treatments and can help them to be more effective for her. 

Palliative Care Focuses on Quality of Life 

Quality of life is the main goal of palliative care. Your senior may have symptoms, side effects, and other needs that aren’t met within the curative therapy framework. Your senior’s palliative team might consist of other doctors, nurses, and even therapists, social workers, and religious leaders. Whatever your senior needs most can be included.  

Palliative care can also be there for you as your senior’s family caregiver. Dealing with a chronic illness is trying for you and for your senior. You have needs as well that are likely more difficult to meet when your focus is on your senior’s well-being. Palliative options can make life easier for you while also helping to meet your aging family member’s needs. 

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Palliative Care in Denton County, TX please contact the knowledgeable staff at Arcy Supportive Care at 469-348-0670.

Jimmie Stapleton

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