Palliative Care Programs
Often patients with both chronic and terminal illnesses will feel extremely isolated in their situation. One of the best medicines can simply be a friendly face, somebody to talk to and a nice smile. It is important that these patients feel that they are still part of society.
List of some diseases that can be terminal
- Cancer: Most cancers can either become terminal or be diagnosed as such including breast cancer and lung cancer.
- Lukemia
- AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
- Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
- Heart Disease such as Severe Coronary Artery Disease
- Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
A list of some Chronic Diseases
- Addison’s disease
- Asthma
- Cardiac failure
- Cardiomyopathy
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
- Chronic renal disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Crohn’s disease
- Diabetes
- Glaucoma
- Haemophilia
- Hypertension
- Hypothyroidism
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Schizophrenia
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Ulcerative colitis
- Bipolar Mood Disorder
Often chronic and terminal diseases affect older people in society, but all ages can be, and are affected.
There is a huge need in society to provide care for people who suffer from these end-of-life illnesses. One thing that must be very clear to everyone, and especially health care providers and the family of the patient, is that every individual has a right to the best quality of life that can be offered.
The personal and financial burden of supporting those with terminal and chronic illnesses may be overwhelming, but it’s a matter of keeping such a person alive as long as possible with the best quality of life available to support him or her.
“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease”
Some would argue that there is a need for health care providers and specialists to have a paradigm shift that would involve less focus on the disease and more focus on the patient.
In cases of terminal diseases, it’s not always about lengthening the life of the patient, but also about improving the quality of life of such patient.
Let the patient be happy and feel appreciated. Allow the patient to feel that they are still part of the family, the society and that there is something that they can do for themselves and for others.
For patients suffering with chronic diseases, a more understanding health care program that seeks to improve the quality of life of the patient is desirable. What is needed is a more patient-focused program which seeks to improve the well-being of the patients.
Medical care should not be ignored but rather, incorporated as a part of the treatment together with palliative care. Ideally, the two should work in hand in assuring the overall well-being of the patient.
For doctors, specialist and other health care providers, care should not be based solely on the medical diagnosis and the academic study of the disease but the treatment of the patient, as a whole person.
For patients with end-of-life ailments a holistic treatment program which seeks to address the personal needs of each individual is required alongside of the medical care.
If there are predisposing factors that affect the disease, such as social isolation or depression, then health care providers need to address these issues as well, which may well prove to bring about a relief of symptoms.
To provide a tailor-made treatment program for each individual patient each person’s habits and beliefs should be examined including how the patient perceives that they can manage the disease.
