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Palliative Care
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Personal Health Issues

Palliative Care

Palliative care focuses on providing relief from the discomfort, symptoms, and stress associated with serious illness to improve your quality of life.

Overview

Palliative care is treatment of the discomfort, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. It provides relief from distressing symptoms including:

  • Pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Constipation
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Problems with sleep

It can also help you deal with the side effects of the medical treatments you're receiving.

Care Goals

Hospice care, care at the end of life, always includes palliative care. But you may receive palliative care at any stage of an illness. The goal is to make you comfortable and improve your quality of life.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, palliative care is designed to complement your ongoing medical treatments, not replace them. The palliative care team works closely with your primary doctor and other specialists to ensure your care is coordinated. Their focus is on symptom management and support, allowing you to better tolerate treatments and improve your overall well-being.
Palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, from diagnosis onward, and can be given alongside curative treatments. Its goal is to improve quality of life by managing symptoms and stress. Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care for people with a life expectancy of six months or less, who have decided to stop curative treatments and focus entirely on comfort and support.
It's often beneficial to start palliative care early in the course of a serious illness, even while you are still receiving treatments aimed at curing or controlling your condition. Early involvement can help manage symptoms proactively, improve your quality of life, and provide an extra layer of support for you and your family.
palliative care team is usually interdisciplinary, including doctors, nurses, social workers, and sometimes chaplains, nutritionists, or other specialists. This care can be provided in various settings, such as hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, or even in your own home.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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