What is Palliative Care at Home for Cancer Patients?
Date Updated: December 14, 2024
Written by:
Leigh Morgan has more than 15 years of experience writing about senior care. She’s the author of “Financial Safety for Seniors: 77 Tips for Preventing Elder Financial Abuse” and has written hundreds of articles about Medicare, Medicaid, assisted living communities, nursing homes and memory care. Morgan developed an interest in senior care while recruiting home health nurses, certified nursing assistants and patient care technicians for a large health care system.
Reviewed by:
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
Palliative care at home for cancer patients is an alternative to palliative care in a hospital. The disease, or its treatment, can cause nausea, fatigue and other symptoms, making it difficult to work, do household chores and engage in other daily activities. Palliative care at home allows seniors to address these symptoms without seeking inpatient care.
How Does Palliative Care Differ From Hospice Care?
Palliative care and hospice care have some features in common, but they offer different goals. Hospice care keeps people with terminal illnesses comfortable at the end of their lives. Terminal cancer can't be cured or controlled with treatment, so the focus shifts to symptom management. Once a senior enters hospice, they no longer receive treatment for their underlying illness.
In contrast, palliative care helps people with serious illnesses achieve a better quality of life. Health care professionals often recommend palliative care in conjunction with continued treatment. Seniors receiving palliative care at home also have access to social workers, chaplains and other professionals to help them cope with the social and emotional effects of having a severe illness.
What Does Palliative Care at Home Include?
Palliative care includes physical, spiritual and emotional support for seniors with cancer and other serious illnesses. Nurses, social workers and other palliative care professionals visit patients at home, eliminating the need to travel to a hospital or clinic. Physical support focuses on managing symptoms and helping seniors preserve as much strength as possible. For example, some patients meet with a dietitian to discuss illness-related issues with food and nutrition.
Spiritual support helps seniors with cancer find hope and meaning in their lives. Chaplains and other care providers tailor services based on a patient's religious beliefs and attitudes toward death and dying. Emotional support makes it easier for a senior with cancer to manage stress. Palliative care professionals listen to each patient's concerns and offer words of comfort.