
The key phrase for you and your senior when thinking about palliative treatment plans needs to be “quality of life” because that’s what this type of treatment is reaching for. When you realize where the most energy is placed, it’s easy to understand what’s so powerful about palliative care.
Palliative Care Is about Individualization
Many treatment methods are by default a generalized program of treatment. Palliative care, on the other hand, is more about treating your senior as an individual who has very specific needs and wants. When her entire team is willing and able to personalize her care plan, your elderly family member can experience some significant results that can be better than she even expects.
Your Senior’s Needs and Symptoms Can Change
Over time, your elderly family member’s symptoms and needs can change dramatically. In the beginning, she and her medical team may be more concerned about her pain levels. Once you’re able to get those under control, you might start to realize that other symptoms are taking more of a prominent position when your loved one talks about what’s bothering her. Nausea, loss of appetite, and so many other symptoms become more noticeable once you get the bigger ones under control.
Emotional Wellness Is Just as Important
But it’s not just about physical health and symptoms when it comes to palliative care. Your aging adult might be angry about her current health condition or she may have other feelings that she needs to deal with in order to be in a better frame of mind. Part of her palliative care plan might involve working with a counselor, for example, or learning stress-relieving techniques. Journaling can also be a powerful part of emotional wellness.
Palliative Care Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent
Another misconception about palliative care is that it’s permanent. What can actually happen, however, is that your senior’s condition could improve to the extent that she opts back out of palliative treatments. She may decide to go back to more active treatment methods after allowing palliative care plans help her to regain her strength. It’s all about what’s best for your aging family member and what she wants to do next.
The best way to know what palliative care can do for both you and for your aging adult is to give it a full chance. Work with your senior’s medical team and determine the best plan for her and for you.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering palliative care in Bensalem, PA, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice today. Call (215) 867-5405.