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Okay, I'll bite. It's not that the word "palliative" is scary. The public barely even knows what it means. Heck, my own family barely knows what it means. You know what IS scary? Talking about serious illness is scary. Talking about getting sicker is scary. And THAT'S OKAY. 1/
Because illness sucks. Dealing with it is emotional. And we're all humans with emotions. If we really want to move the needle for patients and families, we need to recognize that it's okay to be scared of the situations that land them in a palliative care consultation. 2/
So yes - when I meet a patient and introduce myself as "Palliative Care", >90% of the time I get a totally blank expression. And <10% of the time, they'll get a little wide-eyed with recognition, like they didn't expect the Grim Reaper to look like a youngish Asian dude. 3/
But it's all good! Because I'll kneel down by the bed, big ol' smile on my face, and explain I'm here to help you live as well as you can, by controlling your symptoms, helping your medical team, and supporting your family. Everyone LOVES "palliative" after hearing that. 4/
Which begs the question: who's is actually afraid of the word "palliative"? Because it isn't any of the patients or families I've met. They're afraid of getting sicker, afraid of unneeded suffering, of unforeseen complications. Angry even! But not at a word in the dictionary. 5/
So we can call it whatever we want. Makes no difference to me, or to a lot of palliative care clinicians. Because we know what work needs to be done for patients and families, and no matter what it's called, we will always be #ProudlyPalliative.
#hapc #hpm #teammedicine
#hapc #hpm #teammedicine
