Palliative Care: Differences Between Palliative Care, Hospice Care, and End of Life Care
The dictionary defines palliative as "relieving pain or alleviating a problem without dealing with the underlying cause". Palliative care, therefore, is care that is focused on relieving pain and discomfort. The goal if palliative care is not to treat an illness itself, but improve a person 's quality of life during the course of their illness or situation.
Because palliative care does not address the underlying problem, many people mistakenly believe that curative measures cannot be taken while their loved one is receiving this treatment. This is simply not true. Palliative care, also known as comfort care, can be given in conjunction with curative or restorative treatments. Even better, it can be given at any stage of an illness or disease. While palliative care may not be designed to address the underlying cause, it still has been shown to have a dramatic impact on improving a person 's overall condition and extending their life.
…show more content…
Hospice care and end of life care are two terms that refer to the same thing. They are often confused with palliative care. Hospice, or end of life care, is designed to provide services to a person during the final six months of expected life. Hospice care is focused on providing a person and their family the best quality of life possible during those final months and curative treatments are not longer given. Since a large part of hospice care overlaps with palliative care services the two terms have often been used interchangeably to the detriment of seniors and their