Breaking Misconceptions Of Palliative Care
08 August 2023
Although the acceptance of palliative care has grown in recent years, it is still underused, mostly due to misconceptions.
Among the misconceptions of palliative care are that it is only for patients who are terminally ill, treatment ends when palliative care begins, and discussing palliative care deprives patients of having hope.
According to Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City’s (SMC) Consultant Palliative Medicine Physician and Head of Supportive and Palliative Care Service, Dr Hayati Yaakup, these misconceptions can deter patients and their carers from seeking palliative care at an earlier stage of their illness when it is most effective in managing symptoms and improving quality of life.
She said the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics showed that only 14 per cent of the patients who need palliative care are receiving it.
“Addressing these misconceptions requires a broad approach involving continuous awareness programmes, professional training and an integration of palliative careinto the healthcare systems,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Hayati said palliative care is essential for many types of illnesses, with cancer being one of the main illnesses, and according to WHO, 34 per cent of adults whoneed palliative care have cancer.
“Cancer requires an intricate treatment whereby a strong collaboration between multi-disciplinary teams is required, with palliative care being one of them.
“Cancer patients often go through a range of physical and emotional symptoms. Palliative care specialists will collaborate with oncologists to address thesesymptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue and anxiety,” she elaborated.
Among other areas that palliative care and oncology can collaborate to provide the best care for cancer patients are communication where palliative care specialistsand clinicians help patients understand, among others, their diagnosis, treatment options and potential risks.
Other areas are treatment coordination, emotional and psychological support and advance care directive and end-of-life care.
“The combination of these two fundamental aspects, palliative and oncology, will help in achieving the best outcome in patient care. Patients can receive specialisedsupport to enhance their comfort and overall well-being. This integrated approach provides support to patients and their loved ones at every stage of their cancerjourney,” Dr Hayati said.
SMC, being an ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) designated centre for integrated oncology and palliative care service, places a great emphasis onintegrating palliative care with standard cancer care.
This was seen through the 2nd Sunway Oncology and Palliative Symposium 2023 held recently where Dr Hayati was the co-chairperson.
The symposium serves as an avenue in the journey towards improving cancer care and palliative medicine, ultimately benefi ting patients and their loved ones.
It gathered an overwhelming number of local and international delegates, including participants from the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia,India, Cambodia, UAE, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Source: Bernama.com
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