Read Time: 4 minutes
Takeaways:
- Palliative and hospice care both focus on supporting patients and improving quality of life.
- Palliative care can start at diagnosis, while hospice care supports patients nearing the end of life.
Impact: Huntsman Cancer Institute鈥檚 Supportive Oncology and Survivorship team provides personalized, whole-person care that supports patients at every step.
When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the road ahead can feel overwhelming but knowing what kind of support is available can help the journey be more manageable.
Huntsman Cancer Institute provides personalized, whole-person care that supports patients at every step of the way, including palliative care and hospice care. While they are both types of supportive care, the two are different and often get confused with each other.
Cari Low, MD, FACP, a member of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Supportive Oncology and Survivorship (SOS) team and medical director of the Supportive and Palliative Care Program at 麻豆学生精品版, explains the differences between the services and how they can improve your quality of life.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is for anyone who wants help managing a chronic illness, such as cancer, and improving quality of life.
鈥淚 think of palliative care as an extra layer of support for our patients with cancer and their families,鈥 Low says. 鈥淲e focus on the symptoms and stresses that come with cancer and its treatments with the goal to improve quality of life for both our patients and their families.鈥
鈥淲e focus on the symptoms and stresses that come with cancer and its treatments with the goal to improve quality of life for both our patients and their families."
The Huntsman Cancer Institute SOS team provides comprehensive and compassionate palliative care in the following ways:
- Manages symptoms and stress related to serious illness鈥攂oth physical (like pain or fatigue) and emotional (like anxiety or grief)鈥攖o help patients feel well and maintain quality of life.
- Provides clear, personalized information to help patients and families understand their care and make informed decisions.
- Supports treatment decision-making and aligns medical choices with what matters most to the patient and their family.
Palliative care is available at Huntsman Cancer Institute to all patients from the time of diagnosis, throughout treatment, and into survivorship. It can be provided alongside cancer care to help patients feel better and function better during their treatments. It can be integrated at any point in your care journey when symptoms or stresses interfere with quality of life.
What Is Hospice Care?
Like palliative care, hospice care is a type of supportive care for symptom relief. Unlike palliative care, it is for people nearing the end of their life due to illness who are no longer in active treatment.
This type of specialized care provides expert pain and symptom management with caregiver support, usually in your home. The goal is to optimize quality of life and keep you doing the things you want for as long as possible. A team consisting of specially trained doctors, nurses, aides, chaplains, and social workers are available to support you and your family.
While most patients choose hospice support because they prefer to be at home, hospice care can also be provided in a long-term care facility. In specific cases, hospice may even be offered in the hospital when symptoms cannot be effectively managed at home.
Should I Get Palliative Care or Hospice Care?
The type of supportive care services you choose depends on your goals, your current health status, and your personal preferences. You may find it helpful to discuss options like palliative or hospice care with your care team to determine what best supports your needs. A referral to Supportive Oncology and Survivorship can be placed at any time.
Whether it鈥檚 for palliative or hospice care, Huntsman Cancer Institute is here to help you live as well as possible, with dignity, comfort, compassion, and a focus on quality of life.
Unparalleled Supportive Care
Low describes Huntsman Cancer Institute鈥檚 supportive care as deeply collaborative. Rather than existing as a separate service, the SOS team works alongside every part of a patient鈥檚 care to ensure no need goes unmet.
鈥淲e have a novel model compared to other cancer centers across the United States,鈥 Low explains. 鈥淎t Huntsman Cancer Institute, we take a multidisciplinary approach to supportive care, ensuring that all aspects of a patient鈥檚 well-being are addressed. Our team includes palliative care providers, interventional pain specialists, and psychiatric support, all working together to manage complex symptoms and improve quality of life throughout the cancer journey.鈥
This seamless collaboration means patients and families receive coordinated support at every stage of cancer care.
Supportive Care, Close to Home
Low is also passionate about patients receiving supportive care, no matter where they live. Huntsman Cancer Institute provides compassionate palliative and hospice care in the communities patients call home.
With clinics across several locations鈥攊ncluding Sugar House, Farmington, and South Jordan鈥攁s well as telehealth options, the SOS team meets patients where they are. Through the Huntsman at Home鈩, an innovative cancer hospital-at-home program, Huntsman Cancer Institute provides supportive and palliative care to patients in Salt Lake County and three other rural Utah counties.
鈥淲e make sure that we鈥檙e bringing these services to the patient where they are, physically, emotionally, and medically, so we can continue being that layer of support throughout every stage of their care,鈥 Low says.