A diagnosis of a life-threatening illness often comes with feelings of panic and hopelessness. But there is help available.
Makati Medical Center, the Philippines’ premier healthcare institution, discusses palliative care, a kind of specialized medical care available to patients and families dealing with serious diseases.
“It is a type of holistic care given to patients and their families focusing on relief of symptoms, pains and stresses” says Mari Joanne A. Guerzon-Joson, MD, head of MakatiMed Integrative Palliative & Home Care Services. “It can be offered in the hospital, at home, in hospices, or centers for the elderly. The goal is to make the patient facing life-threatening illness feel comfortable and pain-free.”
According to Joson, palliative care is ideally given at the early stage of a life-threatening illness to establish goals of care, advance directives, and decision-making procedures. It’s a team care approach shared between a team of multidisciplinary doctors and nurses, who will help the patient and the family explore personal goals and match the treatment options available to improve the patient’s quality of life.
“This type of care treats the symptoms the patient feels, such as pain and depression, as well as shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and other symptoms that can also cause distress not just to the patient but also to his or her loved ones,” she says. “Palliative care may be offered to anyone at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and provided along with curative treatment for Cancer, Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and many more.”
One of the services offered to patients under palliative care is Advance Care Planning. It involves getting information about the kinds of treatments available to improve a patient’s quality of life, and deciding in advance which treatment the patient may want based on his or her own personal values and preferences. A patient facing serious illness may also opt not to undergo curative treatment or further hospitalization any longer.
Joson adds, “When a patient is diagnosed with life-threatening illness and chooses not to have further treatments, the consequences of these decisions have to be explained thoroughly to the patient and his or her family. At the end of the day, the palliative care team will support their decision and guide them every step of the way. The symptoms and discomfort of the patient will be addressed by the team. With Advance Care Planning, patients and families will have more control over the medical care with clear goals and a good communication system.”
There are patients who refuse palliative care, usually due to the misconception that it is end-of-life care only, or it is the same as hospice. According to Dr. Joson, hospice care is actually a specific type of palliative care for patients who are not expected to live more than six months.
“Talking about illnesses and dying is upsetting and difficult,” says Dr. Joson. “But the better prepared we are, the easier it will be on the ones we leave behind.”
Makati Medical Center’s very own Integrative Palliative and Home Care Services is composed of a team of highly skilled doctors and nurses who conduct visits to patients in the comfort of their home or in other facilities. They aim to improve the quality of life of patients, and assist in the decision-making process for the patient’s health and treatment plans.
For more information, contact MakatiMed Integrative Palliative & Home Care Services located at 2nd floor, Tower 2, or call (02) 8888 999 local 3266. You may also contact MakatiMed On-Call at (02) 8888 999, email mmc@makatimed.net.ph, or visit www.makatimed.net.ph.