How Early Palliative Care Can Help During Ovarian Cancer Treatment
- Palliative care is not the same as end-of-life care; it’s meant to help you all along your cancer journey
- Women should ask for a palliative care referral as soon as they’re diagnosed with cancer, even if their oncologist doesn’t bring it up first
- Palliative care can help with both physical and emotional side effects as well as the financial burden of a cancer diagnosis
“Palliative care is a branch of medicine that provides support to people living with a serious illness,” explains Dr. Elizabeth Kvale, the director of the Supportive Care and Survivorship Program and medical director of the cancer treatment program at LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes at UT Health Austin. “We know that palliative care … improves quality of life, and it also helps people live longer.”
Read More According to Dr. Kvale, the sooner people get palliative care, the better. “People with ovarian cancer should have access to palliative care from the point of diagnosis onward,” she says. If your gynecologic oncologists offers a referral to a palliative care consultation, Dr. Kvale strongly recommends that you say yes, regardless of where you are in your treatment. And if your doctor does not offer palliative care from the start, you should absolutely ask for it.
The benefits of palliative care during a cancer journey might include:
- Tools and methods to help manage side effects
- Services to help manage the emotional and social effects of cancer treatment
- Services to help with the financial impact of cancer treatment
- Helpful conversations to make sure that your treatment aligns with your personal goals
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