HOLLAND, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- When a serious illness enters a family's life, there are many questions to ask and decisions to make. It is important to answer these questions quickly. The process can seem overwhelming. However, hospice care can be a wonderful resource for information about symptom management and comfort care. Hospice care professionals are available to help assess goals, pain management and care options during the decision-making process.
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To understand what the best options are, you will first need to ask yourself some questions:
How are you feeling now?
Are your symptoms minimal or moderate? Are these symptoms just starting to affect your life? If you want to continue treatment but also need comfort and symptom management, palliative care (often called comfort care) maybe an option. Palliative care is patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. Palliative care specialists address the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and families, making sure they have access to all the information about the disease progression and the choices ahead. A patient can receive palliative care in conjunction with other treatments or therapies.
Is your pain unbearable? Is every day a struggle? Is your illness no longer responding to treatment? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then it may be time to consider hospice. Hospice is a specialized kind of palliative care for those facing a life-limiting illness, including helping their families and caregivers. Hospice care concentrates on making patients as free of pain and troublesome symptoms as possible. Hospice services can provide care in a patient's home or in a home-like setting.
What are your wishes?
If your illness progresses to the point where treatment is no longer an option, how would you like to spend your last months? In a hospital bed attached to machines or in your home surrounded by loved ones? It is important to discuss your wishes with your family when faced with a serious illness. Planning offers peace-of-mind to everyone involved and ensures your quality of life throughout your illness. Advance care planning is making decisions about the care you want to receive if you become incapacitated. Palliative care and hospice care professionals are able to speak with you about options that enable you to continue enjoying what's most important.
To learn more about your options, visit http://www.momentsoflife.org/decision-tree/what-are-my-options.
Media Contact:
Anita Brikman
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
[email protected]
703-837-3154
SOURCE National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
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