Palliative Care
Outpatient Palliative Care Services
Supportive Care Outpatient Oncology Clinic
In
February 2013, our Comprehensive Cancer Center made a major commitment to
integrate palliative care into outpatient cancer therapy. This enables cancer
patients who receive treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation to see a
palliative medicine practitioner at the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Patients
do not need to be "end-stage" to receive or benefit from palliative
care. Specific goals are to alleviate spiritual, physical and emotional
suffering. Palliative care can relieve common treatment side effects, such as
fatigue and neuropathy (nerve pain), which can interfere with everyday
functioning. It also can address emotional issues, such as the loss of identity
that can come from not being able to work full-time or be physically
active.
Our
goal is to provide a safe haven for patients and their families to express
emotions and discuss issues they are dealing with in the face of illness.
Numerous recent studies have shown that the addition of palliative care to
usual cancer care reduces symptoms and improves survival.
If
you would like to be seen in our outpatient supportive care oncology clinic,
please have your doctor call 336-713-5440 to set up an appointment.