Get Additional Support with Palliative Cancer Care in Arizona
Palliative cancer care gives people with cancer additional physical and emotional support. The focus of palliative care is to improve quality of life and provide comfort and pain relief for people facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, recovering from cancer, or undergoing cancer treatment.
At Dignity Health, we know a cancer diagnosis can place tremendous emotional and physical stress on our patients. The cancer care team at our the Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center specializes in providing comfort and support for all of our patients. If you’re in need of palliative cancer care in Arizona, Find a Doctor near you today or call (844) 214-5236.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care services often include:
- Medications to control nausea, pain, anxiety, and other symptoms
- Radiation therapy to stop bleeding, ease pain, and relieve pressure from tumors
- Counseling, including spiritual, emotional, and psychological support for you and your loved ones
- Physical therapy, including exercise and therapeutic massage
- Coordination of care from all your doctors
- Alternative therapies, including pet therapy, acupuncture, guided imagery therapy, biofeedback, hypnosis, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (talk therapy)
- Assistance with medical decisions
Your Palliative Cancer Care Team at Dignity Health
Palliative cancer care can take place in your home, a hospital, a long-term care facility, or a nursing home. Palliative care is different than hospice care. It can be delivered at the same time as conventional, life-saving cancer therapies. Members of your palliative cancer care team may include:
- Hospice and palliative medicine doctor
- Your family doctor
- Your oncologist
- Mental health providers
- Palliative care nurses
- Home health aides
- Trained volunteers
- Social workers
- Clergy members
Reasons for Palliative Cancer Care
Palliative cancer care can ease symptoms and provide comfort under the following situations:
- You want more control over your quality of life as well as your treatment goals.
- You have cancer and have physical or emotional pain.
- You need relief from symptoms, including nausea, pain, anxiety, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
- You have been in the hospital many times in the last year.
- Your cancer is continuing to progress despite treatment.
- You want to remain in your own home instead of being in the hospital.
Dignity Health offers specialized cancer care, including palliative care in Arizona.