A lack of awareness and understanding concerning palliative care has given birth to several misconceptions related to this care. To answer the question of why palliative care is bad, we can say that there is nothing bad in this care. The challenges related to this care have surrounded it with various myths. The thought of palliative care evokes fear and hopelessness as a result of a poor understanding of the care delivery, making it bad care. Let us see why it is considered bad and why it is not bad in actuality.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a specialized medical care approach that aims at providing relief from pain and other complexities associated with any severe medical condition. Palliative care is also designed to help patients deal with the side effects of medical treatments. With a palliative care approach, one can improve one’s quality of life when suffering from life-threatening diseases.
This interdisciplinary approach allows multiple doctors and other care providers to work collaboratively with the patient. Palliative care works alongside other treatments to offer that extra shield of care and support. This care is provided to patients suffering from cancer, heart disease, dementia, bone marrow disorders, kidney failure, and other serious illnesses.
Palliative care can significantly reduce pain, nausea, anxiety, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression, constipation, sleeping issues, and breathing problems. The plans designed by the palliative care team are specifically tailored to individual medical conditions and help improve the daily lives of the patients. Care elements such as symptom management, care techniques, support and advice, advance care planning, and referrals.
Myths and Misconceptions
Despite the effectiveness of palliative care, a question persists in people’s mind, “Why is palliative care bad?”
As mentioned earlier, nothing is bad with palliative care. It’s the myth bubbles circumscribing this care facility that has given birth to this question. Let us burst these misconceptions and myths to learn the true benefits of palliative care-
- Palliative care is for dying patients
One of the most common misconceptions regarding palliative care is that the care is given to patients who are soon going to die. This is a huge misconception that has created a fear among people about this care approach. Unlike hospice care, palliative care is given at any stage of an illness. It doesn’t make death occur sooner. Through palliative care, patients can improve their quality of life until death. It is important to integrate this care at the early stage of the disease to maximize life’s quality.
- Palliative Care and Hospice Care are same
This is an absolute myth. Although both cares are meant to improve the quality of life for patients, hospice and palliative care are different from each other. Hospice care is usually provided to patients who are at the end stage of the disease. However, palliative care can be offered at any stage of the disease to modify the current treatments. Hospice treatment is given when the ongoing treatment is no longer effective. Whereas palliative care goes alongside the current treatment, helping patients live an improved life while they battle life-threatening diseases.
- Palliative care is used to treat pain only
Palliative care is commonly given to patients who suffer from severe pain. This has led to the myth that palliative care is only given to patients who are in pain. However, this is not the case. This care is also given to individuals who have other symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, trouble sleeping, and more.
It is also assumed that in palliative treatment, symptoms are controlled through medications only. However, in palliative care, medications and non-medication therapies are given, such as reiki, massage, pet therapy, and more.
- Pain medications under palliative care leads to addiction
In order to reduce the severity of pain, patients are often administered high doses of pain-relieving medications. This doesn’t lead to any addiction.
- No Hope of Survival
Patients often have the misconception that if doctors are advising palliative care, they have given up or there is no hope of survival for the patients. It is important to know that the purpose of palliative care is to help the patients live a much improved life than before.
Bursting these myths associated with palliative care, the question of “Why is palliative care bad?” can be rejected now. Palliative care is an approach that empowers an ongoing treatment plan with added protection and a promise to help the patients live a comfortable and comparatively healthy life till the day they die.
