How many times have I needed to explain people can get chemotherapy and palliative care support at the same time?

(A lot!)

Let’s clear something up once and for all:

Palliative care is specialized support that is available from the moment you receive a cancer diagnosis. Your palliative team is there to help you coordinate your care, think through tough treatment decisions with you, manage challenging symptoms, and anything else important to your quality of life.

Don’t let your doctor tell you it’s “too soon” for palliative care! If you’ve dealing with a serious illness that’s impacting your quality of life, it’s time for palliative care.

If you’d like to meet with a palliative team, just ask your doctor for a referral!

Now just as a heads up, there are still doctors out there that will hear “palliative care” and think you are talking about shifting to comfort care. You may need to clarify that’s NOT what you are talking about, and that you are seeking palliative care for additional support alongside the rest of your treatment.

Hope this helps!