palliative care what is palliative medicine
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Palliative CareDr.Indranil Khan
Palliative Care Provider- Kolkatawww.indranilkhan.com
Phone: +91-9831534166
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
There’s always something we can do..
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What is Palliative CarePalliative Care is a holistic approach that consists of:Early Identification of Physical,
Psychological, Social and Spiritual problemsProper Assessment &Management of these problems; leading toImprovement of Quality of Life of patients
and their families.
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Who Needs Palliative CarePatients diagnosed with:
A chronic disease where treatment outcome is uncertain (like in cancer), or
A disease which has a long course (chronic kidney disease or chronic liver disease), or
A condition where optimum treatment is not feasible (like in a bed-ridden patient who can’t be offered cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs).
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Dimensions:Physical: like alleviating severe pain
(common if the cancer spreads to the bone) through appropriate painkiller tablets or long-acting transdermal patches
Psychological: addressing the anxiety (of treatment consequences) or depression (associated with a cancer diagnosis)
Social: performing family responsibilities, sex life
Spiritual: meditation, yoga and prayers are often powerful adjuncts to standard treatment www.indranilkhan.com
Components:Home Visit (must- the motto is to ease out the pain
and not to add further pain of transport hassle of such a patient)
Access to Drugs (Opioid analgesics like Morphine tablets, Buprenorphine patches are in very restricted supply due to legal provisions to contain drug abuse)
Time (Sufficient to listen to the patient’s complaints)Touch (A doctor’s physical touch is reassuring for the
patient)Non-Invasive (Painful invasive procedures avoided).
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The Touch of Assurance Cancer Patient Doing Yoga
The Team:Palliative care is successful through proper
team-work only.A palliative care team comprises of:
A Doctor trained in palliative careA trained NurseA trained ParamedicAnd most importantly..
Your family and friends without whose 24*7 support any palliative care service will fall flat.
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Which Death You Will PreferDeath is the only constant in your life- the only thing that will occur with 100% probability.
So which death will be more acceptable?
A painful death with iv channels, urinary catheters, central venous lines, hourly injections in hospital or,
A painless death at home in the midst of your near ones? www.indranilkhan.com
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She Chooses A Smiling Death Ditching The Painful IV Lines and Tubes
When Does Palliative Care StartEfforts to improve the quality of life in a
cancer patient should start from the very the diagnosis of cancer is made.
In a patient of liver cirrhosis, however, palliative care is indispensable in the later stage of the disease process as in End Stage Liver Disease when repeated abdominal draining of ascites fluid becomes indispensable
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Myths Busted..Palliative care doesn’t mean ‘end-of-life’ care. It aims to “improve Quality of Life” in
patients fighting a life-threatening illness like cancer.
It doesn’t replace standard curative treatment like chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
It’s complimentary to your standard treatment and aims to reduce the pains (side-effects) of such radical treatment.
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“Let’s add Life to our Days and not merely Days to our Life.”
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Thank Youwww.indranilkhan.com