Palliation Goal

Goal: Provide effective patient- and family-centered palliative care to cancer survivors in New Hampshire.

Co-Chairs
Janice McDermott, NH Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
Charlene Forcier, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Manchester

“The goal of palliative care is to prevent and relieve suffering, and to support the best possible quality of life for patients and their families, regardless of the stage of the disease or the need for other therapies. Palliative care is both a philosophy of care and an organized, highly structured system for delivering care. Palliative care expands traditional disease-model medical treatments to include the goals of enhancing quality of life for the patient and family, optimizing function, helping with decision making, and providing opportunities for personal growth. As such, it can be delivered concurrently with life-prolonging care or as the main focus of care.”
— National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care

Watch this video to learn about Palliative Care, a comprehensive approach to easing suffering and improving quality of life for individuals and their families when faced with advanced or life-threatening illness.

As more people continue to live with chronic, debilitating, and life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, healthcare providers are challenged to provide effective, high quality care.

More than 70% of cancer survivors experience pain, and many also experience nausea, difficulty breathing, depression, fatigue, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms. In addition, survivors and their families require the knowledge to make informed decisions, to maintain an enhanced quality of life, to optimize body function, and to preserve opportunities for personal well-being and development.

The Palliation work group focuses on:

  • Increasing awareness of patients about the benefits of and access to Palliative Care services including hospice care. Note that a hospice Medicaid benefit became effective to NH residents in July 2010
  • Increasing awareness of providers to the benefits and availability of Palliative Care services for patients and caregivers
  • Improving management of physical discomfort, and emotional and spiritual distress

Three objectives have been identified in the NH Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan to guide the activities of the Palliative Care work group.