Much of the time, palliative care is trusted to help ease the discomfort of diseases where a cure cannot be found. It works to increase the quality of life for patients as well as their families. Yet, while it helps, we should also focus on what is missing. Every type of healthcare has its own drawbacks and that includes palliative care. Even though many patients and caregivers don’t discuss the cons, knowing them helps everyone decide what is best for them.
It is common for the costs of this treatment such as emotions, health and finances, to become too great for many patients. There are people who argue that palliative care does not achieve the goals it aims for. This blog post will explore why palliative care is bad from different angles—through patient experiences, ethical questions, healthcare delivery systems, and family struggles.
Key Points:
- Sometimes, giving palliative care means curative treatments can’t begin right away.
- Stress in family life can become more frequent.
- A lack of communication between doctors and their patients’ families may result in harm.
Can Residents Always Use Palliative Care?
Though palliative care is mentioned for people with life-shortening diseases, it might not be the best for everyone. A few families think it may help their family member recover more quickly and effectively. But this isn’t always true.
Let’s imagine that a patient is diagnosed with early stage cancer. If a patient is dealing with symptoms such as pain or nausea, doctors may want to use palliative care. Still, this might wrongly suggest that chemotherapy and surgery are now out of the question. Therefore, patients may choose not to continue their fight with the disease sooner than they should.
Palliative care can be the only option available in these regions because available health centers are few. As a result, poor or marginalized communities get less attention and better care than those in cities who use advanced treatment services.
Rather than focusing on a total cure, palliative care mainly pays attention to a person’s comfort. This way of thinking may make people skip treatments that can save their lives. If a young adult with chronic kidney disease receives care designed to limit uncomfortable symptoms, their chances of getting a transplant might fade.
Note: Do not accept palliative care until you ask your doctor if all treatment options have been considered.
Does Palliative Care Make People More Dependent and Stress them Emotionally?
It is possible for improvements to happen. Palliative care can cause people affected to feel emotionally and mentally dependent on it. After a while, depending on assistance from others too much can take away a patient’s confidence and make them feel less valued.
Families are greatly affected by the problem. Observing someone you care about get worse as caregivers try to keep the symptoms in check is a painful experience. Caring for someone for a long time often leads caregivers to feel burnout, depression and anxiety.
Let’s use the example of a middle-aged woman nursing her aging father with Alzheimer’s. Sometimes, palliative care includes watching his symptoms progress, especially as no permanent cure appears to be possible. Being supported by nurses and doctors doesn’t change the fact that the experience is mentally draining.
Emotional Impact Comparison Chart
| Aspect | Before Palliative Care | During Palliative Care |
|---|---|---|
| Family Expectations | Hopeful | Often reduced |
| Patient Mood | Varied | Emotionally Dependent |
| Caregiver Stress | Moderate | High |
Don’t forget that feeling good emotionally is as important as staying physically fit. Make certain mental stress is addressed in long-term palliative care.
Could Palliative Care Decrease a Patient’s Ability to Choose?
Patient autonomy is another serious problem that often comes with palliative care. Although the model focuses on what patients want, many patients feel they do not have much input into decisions. Others report they did not learn about all the available treatment choices.
Usually, when someone learns they have a serious illness, they start by asking what their treatment options are. Recommending palliative care swiftly without speaking about surgery, medication or therapy strips the patient of their right to choose.
Quite a number of senior patients think that others underestimate them. They feel that palliative care is a code for saying, “there’s nothing else we can do.” Because of this, individuals can experience depression, irritation and worry that they bother those around them.
Table: What sets Palliative Care apart from Curative Treatment
| Criteria | Palliative Care | Curative Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Comfort & quality of life | Recovery & cure |
| Patient Autonomy | Sometimes reduced | Typically more choices |
| Long-term outcomes | Not aimed at survival | Aimed at survival |
The question now becomes, are we helping or just giving up before we should?
Is a Conscious Driving Style Less Costly or a Drain on Your Funds?
While many accept that palliative care costs less than hospitalization and surgeries, that’s not always true. Nurses make many frequent visits, offer counseling, dispense medicines and assist with therapy in many private palliative care situations. Eventually, these expenses increase.
As an example, a family might choose for a member with terminal cancer to receive palliative care at home. It is not uncommon for families to spend between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars every month on weekly care, encouragement sessions, treatment for pain and rental of needed equipment such as tanks of oxygen. Insurance generally does not include all of these expenses, especially if you require it for a long period.
It’s also common for family members to have to quit their day jobs or cut the number of hours they work to help the family. Unlike treatment in a hospital that has one specific cost, care for palliative at home can have extra fees.
There are places where the government or insurance coverage for palliative care is almost nonexistent. As a result, families have to pick between better care and the cost.
Is Communication in Palliative Care Free of Confusion and Always Clearly Understood?
Not all the time, sadly. Many families of palliative care patients often complain about misunderstandings. Doctors and healthcare workers may talk to patients about illness in complicated ways or prefer not to openly discuss dying. It leads to confusions and unrealistic hopes.
Imagine a doctor telling a family, “Keeping him comfortable is our goal.” In other words, is there no way for him to ever improve? Or is it that they’re still making efforts to beat the illness? If language is unclear, families might not understand the patient’s health.
Because employees do not fully understand, they might feel angry. At a later time, family may begin to feel that they were misled about the loved one’s health. As a result, mental health may suffer and things could proceed to serious legal matters.
When people in a family do not speak the same language, the gaps between them get bigger. Cultural thoughts about death and disease might be different than the ways palliative care is carried out. One group might believe every treatment is needed to save a life, while the experts think only about relieving the person’s discomfort.
Conclusion
Palliative care treatment is not the same for everyone. Since it is comforting, hospice still may cause difficulties for the patient and their family. No patient or family member should commit to this kind of care until the benefits and risks are fully understood.
Understanding why palliative care is bad doesn’t mean rejecting it entirely. It is about choosing after learning everything you need to know. It may be the right choice for some. On the other hand, those who can get therapy or treatment might find it’s not the best idea yet.
A better answer may involve stronger communication, openness and combining regular medicines with those that focus on patients’ comfort.
FAQ’s
1. What Problems Come with Palliative Care?
Sometimes, palliative care prevents patients from using all possible treatments, adds emotional strain and leads to extra costs for patients’ families.
2. Do People Need to Give Up When They Get Palliative Care?
Often, symptom relief and support are offered rather than fighting the disease which can look like giving up to patients and loved ones.
3. Can Palliative Care Be a Pricey Service?
Yes, therapy provided at home with the help of experts, tools and special services not fully covered by insurance is the case now.
4. Can Families Feel Disappointed with Choosing Palliative Care?
A number of people claim they were not told about all treatment choices available or were given false hope about the outcome.
5. Could Palliative Care Be Used for All Diseases?
Usually, palliative care is used for climbing illnesses and may not be needed for problems that doctors can treat or manage.
