Topics
11.1.1 Advance Care Planning
11.1.2 Palliative Care
11.1.3 Questions to Ask About Palliative Care
Learning Objectives
➤ Explain the importance of advance care planning.
➤ List factors to consider when creating an advance care plan.
➤ Describe what palliative care is.
11.1.1 Advance Care Planning
Thinking about and discussing your health wishes is known as advance care planning (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.). Health wishes to think about include:
- who you want to make decisions for you if you are not able to,
- who you want to care for you,
- what spiritual beliefs do you want in your care,
- what personal values are important to you,
- what your end-of-life wishes are,
- what kind of healthcare you want to receive (e.g., create an advance directive),
- and how you want to live the rest of your life (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.).
You can write down your wishes or record yourself in a video explaining them (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.).
Do not hesitate to talk to your healthcare team about advance care planning (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.). Your healthcare team can ensure you are aware of all your options, including any treatment options or other health support that is available to you.
Ultimately, advance care planning allows you to make decisions about your life and care while you are still sound of mind (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.).
If you need help creating an advance care plan, check out BC Centre for Palliative Care’s guide.
Advance Care Planning – Individuals (BC Centre for Palliative Care, n.d.).
11.1.2 Palliative Care
Palliative care is a type of care that looks at improving your quality of life if you have a serious illness (Interior Health, n.d.b). You might receive palliative care if your cancer is advanced, which means it is unlikely to be cured.
Your healthcare team for palliative care can include nurses, physicians, dietitians, respiratory therapists, and other health disciplines (Interior Health, n.d.b). You and your healthcare team can create an individualized plan for your end-of-life experience.
You can learn more about advance care planning and palliative care by checking out Video 26 (Advance Care Planning Australia, 2020).
Video 26
Love Is Not Enough – Advance Care Planning (Advance Care Planning Australia, 2020)
11.1.3 Questions to Ask About Palliative Care
- How long will it be before I can receive treatment?
- What are my treatment options?
- What tests will you do to see if my cancer has gotten worse (e.g., spread or grew)?
- What does this all mean for me?
- What should I be doing now? Should I make any specific preparations?
