When faced with a serious illness, you will look for relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of that sickness. You’ll find relief through our palliative care program, which is no longer considered care limited to patients for whom there is no cure.

What You Need to Know About Palliative Care

• Different from hospice, palliative care focuses more on improving life and providing comfort to people with serious, chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
• It’s most effective to begin at diagnosis and continue through treatment and follow-up care, not just at the end of life.
• Palliative care is shown to improve the quality and longevity of life for you and your family. 
• Clinical trials and research are available.

Not Just a Team – A Small Army

The diagnosis and treatment of your cancer often require the skills of many specialists. We bring together these specialists in a single setting (called multidisciplinary care). Here they discuss care for each patient and develop a thorough treatment program as a team. This provides you the best treatment plan possible.

Palliative Care Services

Palliative care addresses the emotional, physical, practical and spiritual issues of cancer. Our team encourages the best quality of life possible by helping you and your family:

• Understand and cope with illness
• Manage pain and symptoms
• Consider all of your care options
• Prepare for what to expect in the future

We work with you to create a personal care plan, including treatment goals and services, such as physical and occupational therapy. We offer support for caregivers and assist with financial issues related to caregiving. 

Research and Clinical Trials

Working with UMass Chan Medical School, the Cancer Center serves as a forum for education and research. Extensive cancer research and clinical trials are conducted so you benefit from the latest diagnostic and treatment options that come from this research.

UMass Memorial is a participant in the national Palliative Care Quality Collaborative, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of care delivered to people with serious illness and providing our community of caregivers with resources they need to drive quality improvement.