Palliative Care During Active Cancer Treatment
Palliative care is not just for end-of-life. Cancer patients can benefit from palliative care alongside chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and other active treatments. Our palliative care team works with your oncologist to manage:
- Treatment side effects (nausea, fatigue, neuropathy)
- Cancer-related pain that may not be fully controlled by your current regimen
- Emotional distress, anxiety, and depression
- Nutritional challenges and appetite loss
- Difficult conversations about treatment goals and advance care planning
Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that cancer patients who receive palliative care early alongside standard treatment report better quality of life, less depression, and in some cases even longer survival.
Hospice Care for Advanced Cancer
When cancer has progressed to the point where curative treatment is no longer effective or desired, hospice care provides comprehensive comfort care focused on maximizing quality of life. Hospice may be appropriate when:
- The patient has a prognosis of six months or less if the disease runs its natural course
- The patient has decided to discontinue curative treatments
- The cancer has metastasized and is no longer responding to treatment
- The patient's functional status is declining (spending more time in bed)
Cancer Pain Management Protocols
Pain management is at the core of our cancer care program. Our medical director and nursing team are experts in cancer pain management, using a multi-modal approach that may include:
Opioid Medications: Carefully titrated morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, or other opioids to manage moderate to severe cancer pain. We educate patients and families about safe use and dispel common myths about opioid medications in hospice care.
Non-Opioid Pain Management: NSAIDs, acetaminophen, corticosteroids, and nerve blocks for complementary pain relief. Adjuvant medications such as gabapentin for neuropathic pain.
Non-Pharmacological Approaches: Positioning, massage, heat/cold therapy, relaxation techniques, and music therapy to complement medication-based pain management.
Around-the-Clock Pain Control: We use scheduled dosing rather than waiting for pain to become severe, supplemented by breakthrough medications for pain spikes.
Emotional Support for Cancer Patients and Families
A cancer diagnosis affects the entire family. Our comprehensive support includes:
- Individual counseling for patients facing end-of-life
- Family counseling to navigate difficult decisions together
- Spiritual care that respects each patient's beliefs and values
- Child and teen support when a parent or grandparent has cancer
- Bereavement support for up to one year after loss
- Connection to local cancer support groups and resources
Types of Cancer We Support
Our care teams have experience managing patients with all types of cancer, including:
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Liver cancer
- Brain cancer
- Blood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma)
- And other cancer diagnoses
