Background The World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care states that: Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of…
Why is it important? Communication is an essential part of high-quality, person-centered care, especially in the context of a serious illness like cancer. The majority of people living with cancer want to have conversations with their clinicians about what to…
Introduction Communication skills can be broadly defined as “the cognitive and emotional abilities used by clinicians to enable patients and their families to understand the nature of the illness, to partner with patients to make sound medical decisions, and to…
I always avoid prophesying beforehand because it is much better to prophesy after the event has already taken place. Winston Churchill Prognostication is the act of foretelling or prophesying future events. Along with diagnosis and treatment, it has served as…
What is palliative care? Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness that is focused on improving quality of life for patients and their families and caregivers. It is available to patients of any age and any…