Benefits of Palliative Care – Talking Points
Palliative Care gives extra support in your home from a caring team, that helps you get:
- More days comfortably at home with family and less visits to the hospital
- Less stress and burden on family, caregivers and loved ones
- Someone to call 24/7 if there’s a problem
- Managing symptoms of your illness such as pain, shortness of breath and nausea
- Explaining care and treatment options to patients and loved ones
- Referrals to other resources
Palliative Care Stories for Hawaiʻi
Since 2021, Kōkua Mau’s Palliative Care Awareness Committee has been working to better understand palliative care in Hawaiʻi and how to educate both providers and the public. We since developed materials and messaging for both providers and the public.
This page focuses on the public, as we see there continues to be a lot of confusion about what palliative care is and the opportunity it presents. We hope these two Hawaiʻi stories illustrate the importance and benefit of palliative care. Feel free to use them. Please share you feedback if make use of it.
Palliative Care keeps you in your home
Tutu Malia is a 69-year-old kumu hula. After a heart attack 6 months ago, she developed heart failure, resulting in 4 trips to the ER and several hospital stays. She found the hospital staff to be kind, but she would rather be in her own home.
A month ago, Malia’s doctor got her into a new home-based palliative care program with a nurse and a social worker who come to her home once or twice a week to provide nursing care and social support to her and her family. She was thrilled that there was no cost to her as it is covered by her insurance. They also have 24/7 phone support in case there is a problem or health concern. Since then, she’s feeling better, and her family is not so worried. She hasn’t needed to go back to the emergency room and has started seeing friends again at home.
Palliative Care Gives You Comfort and Hope
Jasmine is a 48-year-old local woman with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy and radiation. Her treatment is working but severe side effects of nausea and fatigue leave her feeling overwhelmed and worried. Her teenage daughter and son have become isolated and distant from their ‘ohana and aren’t doing well in school. Her husband, while supportive, buries himself in researching her illness on the internet.
Her cancer doctor referred her to a home-based palliative care program that provides a doctor and nurse who help manage her pain, other symptoms, and side effects—while she is getting chemo and radiation. A social worker from the program has provided counseling to her and her husband and referred her kids to a support program for teens. For the first time in a while, Jasmine has started to feel more comfortable and able to engage with her husband and children. She feels she is finding “a new normal” that she can live with. As a result, she is feeling a ray of hope.
- Download the Hawaiʻi stories as a PDF file