Expert Explains How Palliative Care Could Be An Option Over Hospice
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- You may have heard the term Palliative Care, but do you understand it?
Palliative care is not hospice care says Dr. Maurice Gross, Director of Palliative Care at Abington-Jefferson Health.
He says hospice is for patients in the final 6 months of life opting to receive no further treatment.
"We are about finding out what the patient's goals are, what the family's goals are, as opposed to just saying we're here to talk about the end of your life, we're not here to talk about the end of life, we're here to talk about what you want to do while going thru this process.
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The process is the medical treatment for a serious disease.
With palliative care, doctors help patients manage the illness and life.
"Are you having any pain, what symptoms are you having, how is your family dealing with this, do you need any help? I would ask them if they died would you want us to do any resuscitative measure, would you want us to put in a ventilator and do CPR to bring you back or would you want to allow a natural death to occur," he said.
Patients may still receive medical intervention with added support from people who know your wishes and are on your side.
