← Return to Choosing palliative care; what is your experience?

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@colleenyoung

@jobli0, I concur with @mir123 about your attitude and decision-making to be logical and strong. A point of clarification, palliative care is not always instead of cancer treatment. Palliative care is symptom management or comfort care that can be given along with curative treatment or treatment where remission is the goal.

Like you, people can decide to stop curative or agressive treatments which have the goal of stopping progression, but continue with a palliative care team to manage pain or other symptoms that may arise.

You may also be interested in these related discussions:
- Going my way: Decided to stop cancer treatments
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/going-my-way/
- When to stop treatment with stage IV metastatic rectal cancer?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/when-to-stop-treatment-with-stage-iv-metastatic-rectal-cancer/
- Talking Frankly about Living with Advanced Cancer https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/talking-frankly-about-living-with-advanced-cancer/

It so helpful that your family is onboard too. We supported my father in similar decision making (colon cancer and heart and diabetes co-mobidities). He was able to stay home with hospice care coming in as needed. We also found it very helpful to have an occupational therapist come into the home to help determine which mobility supports would make daily life a little easier such as a sitting up in bed.

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Replies to "@jobli0, I concur with @mir123 about your attitude and decision-making to be logical and strong. A..."

That's great point — some of my care is labelled "palliative" even though I'm getting or have gotten stong, curative-intent doses of radiation and hormone therapy. The first time I saw the word applied to me I was quite upset, but the doctors explained it the same way you just did.

Perhaps a better choice would be "Palliative emphasis," "Palliative first," or similar.