Palliative care at any stage
Serious illnesses require serious treatment and often come with symptoms that are difficult to handle alone and that can sometimes be exacerbated during the treatment process.
That is where palliative care comes in.
“Palliative care focuses on quality of life,” said Dillon Stein, palliative care physician at Butler Health System. “It surrounds primarily symptom management in patients with serious illnesses.”
This covers a wide range of illnesses from terminal to chronic and long-lasting illnesses along with a staggering variety of treatment options including traditional medicinal treatment but also emotional support.
“Most of our patients live at home or in a facility,” said Stein. “It operates a lot like regular hospital services.”
One of the things that sets palliative care apart is the time palliative care physicians can take to spend with a patient and focus on the patient’s goals.
“The most important thing we do is get to know the patient and their family,” said Stein. “My hope is that the care that we’re going to try to give may feel different from other places they go, because we’re focused on the medical care but also the patient’s goals.”
He does not mean to imply that other doctors are not focused on these things, he said, but that the focus of his work requires him to take the time to understand each individual patient.
This gives him more time and resources to get to understand his patients and their support system to best help them reach their goals.
“My goal is whatever theirs is,” Stein said. “If their goal is treatment of their illness, mine is to make them as comfortable as possible while they receive it.”
This often includes emotional support as well, and the Butler Health System palliative care team has members trained in helping patients with the emotions that can often come with palliative care.
“It’s really a team approach,” Stein said. “We have a social worker who’s part of our palliative care team.”
They also have a chaplain who volunteers to serve on the team.
Stein also emphasizes the importance of friends and family when going through a serious illness.
“They are a huge part of it,” he said. “We try to provide as much support in that too. “
Butler Health System also offers programs to help patients and others to better process bereavement and grief.
Their facilities are only so well equipped however, as their primary focus must be on the patient’s physical well-being and symptom management, so more serious cases are referred out to mental health specialists.
Despite common misconceptions, palliative care is not limited to end of life treatment.
“Palliative care treats at any stage of the disease,” Stein said.
