Palliative Care Center

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Goals and dreams. Maybe you have always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon or be reunited with a long-lost sister. A palliative care team may be able to help you feel well enough to make these goals and dreams come true.

Hospice care. When you, your loved ones, or your doctors feel that you may have less than 6 to 12 months to live, you may want to think about hospice. Hospice is palliative care that you can receive wherever you are, whether that is a nursing home, hospital, or your own home. For more information, see the topic Hospice Care.

Advance directives. A palliative care doctor can help you fill out important legal papers called advance directives. These papers tell your doctors how to care for you at the end of your life. For example, you decide if you want doctors to use machines to keep your body alive when it can no longer do so by itself, and how long you would be willing to live on these machines. You decide whether you would want doctors to try to bring you back to life using CPR once your heart stops. You also decide who you want to make decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself. For more information, see the topic Writing an Advance Directive.

You may find it helpful to read personal stories about how palliative care has helped others.