Palliative Care

 

Palliative Care is support and treatment when cancer cannot be cured.

It is different to End of Life Care; for which there is a separate section on this website - link to End of Life page

Your Oncology team (your Nurse Specialist/ Key-worker, and Consultant) will be the people that will talk to you and let you know when you will be offered palliative Care and explain what that means for you.

Palliative care

As your cancer is not curable with treatment the aim of any further support or care is to manage symptoms and, as much as possible, to slow down the progression of the disease.

A palliative care diagnosis?

Palliative care is about managing symptoms not about curing the cancer. Palliative care can be given over days, weeks or years. Over time your condition will change and probably deteriorate.

For some people the cancer can be controlled for some time, and the symptoms can be managed; allowing someone to continue a good quality of life. For others it can be hard to keep on top of the symptoms caused by the cancer and may mean that they need to be admitted to the hospital or for support from the Hospice to get on top of the symptoms.

Palliative Care Team

The Palliative Care Team is here to support anyone within the hospital who has been told their condition is no longer curable and need palliative care or end of life care.

If your care and support is to be continued in the community or at home they will refer you to the Community Palliative Care Team who will be your point of contact for any support and advice.

If you are an in-patient at the Hospital, the Palliative Care Team will liaise with your Consultant and Nurse Specialist to ensure you receive the best care and  support.

For further information, please refer to these websites:

Ipswich Hospital Palliative Care team, tel:  01473 704932

Community Palliative Care Team (St Elizabeth Hospice)

Also provided by the Community Palliative Care Team is a 24 hour advice line “OneCall”. Advice is given by experienced nurses to those who are ill, their families and those who provide care for those living in East Suffolk with a life limiting and progressive illness.

St Elizabeth Hospice One Call (24 hour advice), tel: 0800 5670111

Support from St Elizabeth Hospice

The Hospice can help you manage physical and emotional symptoms following a diagnosis of cancer that cannot be cured. The Hospice team are there to support you, your family and carers.

If you are referred to the Hospice, the team will assess your needs and talk to you and your family about the options available to you. A plan of care will be agreed which is based on your needs, not your diagnosis, and will address your physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional needs.

Where appropriate, the aim is to support you to stay at home, and live as full a life as possible in familiar surroundings.

The hospice can provide a wide range of services such as a 24 hour advice line (more below), occupational therapy, counselling, courses for carers and in-patient end of life care. For more information on these and all other services available please refer to the St Elizabeth Hospice website. You may find these two links a good place to start.

These links provide further information on a selection of the services available:

Contact details for St Elizabeth Hospice and associated services:

OneCall is a 24 hour advice line. Advice is given by experienced nurses to those who are ill, their families and those who provide care for those living in East Suffolk with a life limiting and progressive illness.

Support for family and friends

For family and friends we have a dedicated section on this website to enable you to get the support you need - link to Carers Support page,