Myth or Fact?

MYTH: "Palliative care is only for people close to death?" 
Most treatments could benefit from the model of relaxed and personalized healthcare that palliative care focuses on offering. Often palliative care is provided alongside life-prolonging care to improve quality of life and alleviate pain.

MYTH: "Palliative care leads patients to the end of their life sooner."
Palliative care doesn't hasten death. Patients receiving palliative care in fact often live longer than those with the same illnesses receiving only curative treatment.

MYTH: "Palliative care will cost my family too much money."
Without the unnecessary medical treatments provided at hospitals, home based care costs significantly less. Because the healthcare team discusses resource options and financial options, palliative care guides patients and their families through physical, emotional, and financial concerns.

MYTH: "Palliative care is the same thing as hospice."
Hospice is a form of palliative care only offered near the end of life when the patient has six months or less to live. However, palliative care can be given to patients with several years remaining to live as well as those who still have a chance at recovery.

MYTH: "Palliative care means my doctor has given up on me."
The extra layer of support that palliative care provides simply helps to maintain quality of life and navigate through the preexisting healthcare system. There is always hope, and this form of care shifts the goal towards living each moment to its fullest.