Palliative care for cancer patients
IT’S the month of October and most if not all of us will go pink and join the fight against breast cancer, but there is also another side to the coin as not all individuals survive the disease.
Instead, they go through pain and turmoil and sit waiting to die. But what many people don’t know is that palliative care — specialised medical care for people with serious illnesses — is available in Jamaica at the Hope Institute, a palliative care clinic at the University Hospital of the West Indies, and through a hospice at the St Joseph’s Hospital. Palliative care focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms and stresses of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family. It focuses on symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping and depression. It also helps you gain the strength to carry on with daily life.
Palliative care improves your ability to tolerate medical treatments, and it helps you have more control over your care by improving your understanding of your choices for treatment.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day will take place on October 10, 2015 under the theme ‘Hidden Lives/Hidden Patients’ and will focus on the patients living in unique conditions who often struggle with access to palliative care, including children, LGBT individuals, HIV prisoners, soldiers and those living in rural settings.
Remember, no one with a life-limiting condition such as cancer or HIV should live and die with unnecessary pain and distress. So as we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month and strive to fight a fatal and painful disease, don’t forget that palliative care is offered in Jamaica to help you get through this difficult time.
