Wednesday 12th January 2022, 5.30pm — 7pm
If you or someone you know has pancreatic cancer, planning for the future can feel difficult. You may have heard of the term ‘palliative care’, but feel unsure about what this means. You may feel unclear on who is there to support you towards the end of life.
‘Palliative care’ means providing specialist care to manage symptoms such as pain, as well as emotional and practical support. The aim is to help you live as well as possible for as long as possible. Some people find the thought of palliative care upsetting, but these services aren’t just for people at the end of their life. They are available at any point during treatment or care.
In this webinar for patients and carers, we discuss:
The end of life is touched upon throughout, but is discussed in detail towards the end of the webinar. This section covers:
“I am a Palliative Medicine Consultant working at City Hospice, providing community palliative care to the people of Cardiff in their own homes. I also work as an Honorary Tutor on the Palliative Medicine for Healthcare Professionals MSc course at Cardiff University. What motivates me is improving quality of life and end of life care for people and their loved ones, providing support and guidance as a palliative care team when people need it the most.”
“I graduated from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London in 1998. I am accredited in Palliative Medicine and have trained in hospitals and hospices in London and Wales. I was appointed as a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at City Hospice and Velindre University Hospital NHS Trust in 2008, and subsequently became Clinical Director of City Hospice. I am Training Programme Director for Palliative Medicine in Wales, have an interest in pancreatic cancer, and was a member of the Pancreatic Guideline development group (NICE, 2016).
Through clinical experience I have been motivated by the importance of improving people’s quality of life through symptom control and team working. My least favourite phrase is “there is nothing more we can do” – there is always something to be done, it’s taking the time to find what a person needs.”
When people think of palliative care, often their first thought is about dying, and this is understandably frightening. Peaceful and dignified end of life care is part of our role, but palliative care is about much more than that. It is about living well, improving quality of life and symptom control, helping with difficult discussions and decisions, and most importantly about support at a time when people need it most.