Palliative care is the hidden gem of medical care. It was August 20, 2021, I had just gotten an emergency trache at St Mary's in Rochester, my chemo was bringing me down and my immunotherapy was no longer effective. A Mayo pall care doctor visited me in the hospital and gave me the boost I needed to consider pall care. The next month my oncologist told me I had < 1 year and was headed towards hospice. The pall care team took me under their wing while i tried a new immunotherapy and got off chemo. Pall care got my head straight, got me the right head meds and I got out of the ditch.

What's even better is that the Pall care team stayed with me through today. They are always there when I need them and are proactive to make sure i don't fall back into the ditch one year later. It's been the holy grail of cancer care for me. No cancer patent left behind!

Several on my colleagues at Gilda's Club https://www.gildasclubtwincities.org/ , feel the same way at their Pall care providers in the Twin Cities. Most people think its the first stop on the way to hospice-it's not.

Give it a shot!

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