palliative

Palliative refers to care or measures that relieve suffering and improve quality of life for people with serious illnesses without necessarily curing the disease. In medicine, palliative care is a formal specialty and set of practices focused on patients and families facing life-limiting conditions. It encompasses symptom relief, psychosocial support, and help with decision making throughout the illness trajectory, not only at the end of life.

Its core goals are effective symptom control (pain, shortness of breath, nausea), psychosocial and spiritual support, and clarity about prognosis and treatment options. Palliative care can be provided alongside disease-modifying treatments and is appropriate for many conditions, including cancer, heart failure, chronic lung or kidney disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and frailty. Early integration improves quality of life and may reduce unnecessary aggressive interventions.

Delivery is typically interdisciplinary, with physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other professionals collaborating to assess needs, set goals, and coordinate care across settings. Key components include advance care planning, goals-of-care discussions, medication management for symptoms, rehabilitation, and caregiver support. Hospice is a form of palliative care for those approaching end of life, but palliative care itself begins earlier and may accompany curative treatments.

Origin and usage: The term derives from Latin palliare, meaning to cloak or alleviate, and palliation refers to symptom relief. In contemporary medicine, the concepts emphasize comfort, quality of life, and patient-centered decision making rather than cure.