When to use Palliative Care

Описание: Understanding a medical diagnosis can be confusing and overwhelming. Health experts say there’s a specialized medical care team for people suffering from a chronic illness that can help patients cope with the symptoms and better understand their medical options.

The Lee Memorial Health System palliative care team acts as medical interpreters, counselors, even spiritual advisors, to help focus on the patient’s quality of life.

“When you’re sick or someone you love is sick, it’s very overwhelming, and to have a team that spends time understanding what’s important to you can be very valuable,” said Dr. Colleen Tallen, medical director of palliative care with Lee Memorial Health System.

Dr. Tallen says they first want to help the patient understand their diagnosis and treatment options. “I’m the interface between what the medical words are, and understanding how the patient wants to live their life, and seeing if those decisions are going to lead you to where you want to go.”

She says most patients with a palliative care team have chronic illnesses. The most common are patients with cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and kidney disease.

“The other thing we help with is symptom management. When people are ill with diseases, they have pain, nausea, things that really make it hard for them to live a quality life” said Dr. Tallen.

With the patient’s best interest in mind, the palliative care teams also works with the patient’s family members and caregivers. “We spend much of our time trying to help not only the patient but also the loved ones that many times are put in a position to make decisions for someone who can’t speak for themselves,” said Dr. Tallen.


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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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