What is Palliative Care?

If you watch any newsreel of trauma or disaster, you will surely see somewhere a First Responder or volunteer draping a blanket over injured, wearied, or shell-shocked victims.  There is something healing in the simple act of draping this cloak around someone.  The word "palliative" comes from palliare - the Latin word for "cover" or "cloak."  Palliative care extends the same comfort to patients that the ubiquitous blanket does for disaster victims.

Palliative care is the management of symptoms and providing comfort to patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. This model of care starts at the time of diagnosis of any life-limiting illness and continues throughout the disease. This episode discusses the concept of palliative care, how it integrates with medical care, and the differences between palliative care and hospice care.

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