Definition
Palliative therapy is a special therapy concept that can be used in terminally ill patients when no further measures can be taken that could lead to the healing of the patient. Accordingly, it is a concept that accompanies patients at the end of their lives and is intended to alleviate their suffering without being able to bring about a cure. Palliative therapy can also be used at the patient’s request when he or she no longer wishes to receive further treatment, although theoretically there would still be a chance of recovery. Palliative therapy consists of several areas, each of which aims to reduce the suffering of the sick person to a minimum. Depending on the type of illness, pain therapy, psychotherapy, drug therapies and also operations are used.
Who receives palliative therapy?
Palliative therapy is used for very sick people whose ailments can no longer be treated by curative measures, i.e. measures that lead to healing. Accordingly, these are usually patients who are in the final stages of a serious illness. These are often cancer patients whose tumor has spread over a large area of the body.
Other diseases, such as serious diseases of the cardiovascular system or lung diseases, can also deteriorate to such an extent that palliative therapy is a last resort. However, patients may also wish to undergo palliative therapy if they no longer wish to undergo further potentially curative treatment – even if a cure has not yet been ruled out. Likewise, the legal guardian of a patient who is no longer able to give consent himself/herself can decide in consultation with the physicians to opt for a palliative therapy concept.
What is the goal of palliative therapy?
The aim of palliative therapy is to alleviate the symptoms of a patient who is terminally ill or no longer wishes to receive curative treatment as much as possible, thus relieving him or her of the burden of suffering. Improving the quality of life is therefore the main focus. Important components of palliative therapy are therefore painkillers to relieve the patient’s pain, an improvement or even a change in diet, psychological care if desired by the patient, and other medications, for example for shortness of breath or nausea.
Since the patient should live with his or her illness as well as possible, operations, radiation and chemotherapy can also be part of palliative therapy if they can improve the patient’s quality of life and prolong survival. Although this does not cure the disease, it does slow its progression and has a positive effect on the course of the disease. For example, palliative radiation of bone metastases can reduce pain caused by the disease and prevent bone fractures.
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