Health professionals and hospitals are using palliative care more and more. They find that patients and families like this kind of care.

Anyone who has an illness that gets worse over time can benefit from palliative care. You can get care to treat your illness and palliative care at the same time. You do not have to choose one or the other.

Some treatments can be curative or palliative. For example, radiation is often a curative treatment for cancer. But it can also be used to help control cancer pain. When it is used to control pain and not to get rid of cancer, it is called palliative radiation.

If curative treatment is no longer working, a palliative care provider can help you decide if you want to continue that treatment. When the time is right, your palliative care provider may talk to you about hospice care. Hospice is palliative care for people who are in their final weeks or months of life. For more information, see the topic Hospice Care.