How palliative care helps improve the quality of life of cancer patients
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An estimated 60 million people worldwide need palliative care every year, but only 14% of them have access to these services.
Santo Domingo. – On the occasion of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, celebrated this October, Dr. Ángela Marmolejos calls on the community to raise awareness of the importance of this form of care for people with serious or terminal illnesses.
The main aim of the day is to spread awareness of the importance of palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of patients facing chronic illnesses such as cancer.
Dr. Marmolejos, an anaesthesiologist in Palliative Care and Pain Management at IntraCare Center, advises that this care should begin at the onset of the illness, through early integration or during follow-up.
She explains that its importance and involvement grow as the end of life approaches and continue even after the patient’s death, through bereavement support for their loved ones.
“Anyone diagnosed with a serious illness who has symptoms should receive palliative care,” she says.
She says physical symptoms, emotions and ways of coping with cancer are some of the effects hospices address.
She states that palliative care helps improve the quality of life of cancer patients in different ways: relieving physical symptoms, addressing the emotions that arise with diagnosis and treatment, showing the family ways to cope with life and change, and helping to understand spiritual concerns.
Other contributions the specialist mentions include supporting the patient’s care needs, providing assistance with financial, employment and insurance issues, helping to prepare advance directives and other forms, and supporting the transition to end-of-life care when treatment stops working or the cancer gets worse.
Worldwide, an estimated 60 million people need palliative care every year, but only 14% of them have access to these services. Faced with this challenge, Dr. Marmolejos stresses the need to raise awareness of the importance of integrating palliative care into health systems to guarantee fair and timely access.
World Palliative Care Day invites reflection on the crucial role this care plays in the lives of millions of people and the urgent need to strengthen the resources available to patients and their families.
Through comprehensive, compassionate care, palliative care enables people to live with dignity until the end of their lives.
IntraCare Center
IntraCare Center specialises in oncology services, palliative care, and outpatient and home chemotherapy, as well as the distribution of cytostatic drugs. Its staff are committed to improving the quality of life of adult and paediatric cancer patients through innovative equipment and technology systems that operate to the highest standards of quality and biosafety.