EEH: Palliative care vs. hospice care -- 8 myths and facts

When someone is dealing with a serious or chronic illness, the accompanying symptoms can be difficult and upsetting — and interfere with treatment and overall well-being.

Palliative care can help people live well with a chronic or serious illness. While palliative care can help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life, it is often misunderstood and confused with hospice care. The misconceptions can prevent patients and families from accessing the many benefits of palliative care.

What are some myths and facts about palliative care versus hospice care?

1. MYTH: Palliative care and hospice care are the same. FACT: Both palliative and hospice care can help patients and their families deal with serious illness by helping to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. But the two types of care differ in important ways. Hospice care is a form of palliative care that is given to terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less. Palliative care is often given to patients who are expected to recover from their illness and may no longer need palliative care after some time. Palliative care can help people with cancer, heart, lung and kidney disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and more.
2. MYTH: Palliative care is only given at the end of life. FACT: Unlike hospice, palliative care is not limited to people nearing the end of life. Palliative care can be received by people of all ages, with any chronic condition or serious illness at any stage, whether terminal or not. In fact, it’s best to begin palliative care soon after a person is diagnosed, to increase quality of life and comfort. If the illness advances, palliative care can serve as a bridge to hospice care, which focuses on helping people enter the final stages of life as fully and comfortably as possible, pain-free and with dignity.
3. MYTH: Palliative care treats pain only. FACT: While pain relief is a common goal, palliative care can provide relief from many other symptoms caused by advanced illness, including loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, shortness of breath, insomnia, anxiety, depression, restlessness and spiritual distress. It includes the full range of support — physical, emotional and spiritual.
4. MYTH: Patients receiving palliative care can’t receive other treatments. FACT: While hospice care is limited to symptom relief, palliative care is often provided simultaneously alongside other treatments that may even cure or reverse the effects of illness. The goal of palliative care is to help get symptoms under control while a person is undergoing other treatments, whereas the goal of hospice care is no longer to cure an illness, but to promote comfort.
5. MYTH: Palliative care means the doctor has given up hope for recovery. FACT: Palliative care means a doctor wants someone to be as comfortable as possible and have the best possible quality of life through the course of illness. Palliative care can help people cope with aggressive treatments by getting pain and other symptoms under control. It’s an extra layer of support. Some studies show that people who receive palliative care often live longer than those with the same advanced illness who do not receive palliative care.
6. MYTH: Once patients begin palliative care, they will stop seeing their other doctors. FACT: A palliative care team is made up of specially-trained physicians and nurses, along with social workers, counselors, nutritionists and chaplains. They coordinate care with the patient’s primary doctor and specialty doctors to provide holistic care, including medical, social, emotional and practical support, using the approach of shared medical decision-making.
7. MYTH: Palliative care is only available in hospitals. FACT: Palliative care (and hospice care) can be given at home, in a hospital, assisted living or nursing facility, outpatient clinic or other clinic.
8. MYTH: Palliative care costs a lot of money. FACT: Palliative care may be covered by Medicare, Medicaid or some private insurance plans with applicable co-payments and deductibles. Hospice coverage may be available through Medicare Part A, Medicaid and many insurance policies.

Learn more at www.eehealth.org/services/palliative-care.