Palliative care isn’t always a part of just end-of-life care. It can be used at any point if you have incurable cancer to improve your quality of life.
Some cancer treatments are curative, while others are palliative. Palliative care relieves symptoms and improves quality of life, but it doesn’t cure cancer.
It’s often considered part of end-of-life care, but it can also be used alongside curative treatment at any time during an illness. The goals of palliative chemo look different from those of chemo meant to cure someone of their cancer.
Chemotherapy involves drugs that target and destroy fast-growing cells in your body. Cancer cells
Chemo is typically recommended in situations to:
- treat cancer and keep it from coming back
- shrink the tumor
- reduce symptoms
- improve quality of life
- possibly prolong life
When chemo is used to shrink the tumor, reduce symptoms, improve quality of life, or prolong life, it’s called palliative chemotherapy.
Palliative chemo is typically used when cancer has spread and chemo is not being used. The main goal is to
As with any medical treatment, palliative chemo has pros and cons. The decision to recommend it can be a difficult one.
Sometimes doctors recommend palliative chemo for those who don’t have much time left and do not benefit from it, or they under-treat someone who would benefit from it.
The decision to receive palliative chemo needs to be weighed against:
- life expectancy
- current symptoms
- whether side effects would reduce, rather than improve, quality of life
Talking with your doctor about possible pros and cons can help you make an informed decision about whether palliative chemo is the right decision for you.
Pros of palliative chemotherapy
- improved quality of life
- symptom relief
- fewer re-hospitalizations
Cons of palliative chemotherapy
- minimal benefits from treatment
- side effects
Potential side effects from palliative chemotherapy
Talk with your doctor about the potential side effects of treatment. Depending on the drug used, dose, how often it’s given, and the recipient’s health, age, and cancer status, palliative chemo may have many of the same side effects as chemo.
These may include:
- diarrhea
- fatigue
- mouth sores
- hair loss
- nausea and vomiting
- easy bruising
- constipation
- difficulty concentrating
Palliative chemotherapy can be used for a variety of cancers when a cure is no longer possible, typically metastatic (stage 4) cancer. The type of cancer is less important than the stage of the cancer, although it may help determine the type of chemotherapy drugs used.
Certain cancers for which palliative chemotherapy has shown specific significant benefits include:
- Pancreatic cancer: For metastatic pancreatic cancer, palliative chemotherapy
may improve the quality of life. - Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): For NSCLC, palliative care may improve pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
- Breast cancer: For metastatic breast cancer, palliative chemotherapy may improve the quality of life.
More research is needed to explore the potential benefits of palliative chemotherapy for people with other forms of cancer.
If your cancer is advanced and treatment has moved from being curative to palliative, talk with your doctor about your treatment options. Questions can include:
- What is the likelihood my cancer will respond?
- How long will the treatment last?
- What side effects can I expect?
- What are the risks and benefits of this treatment?
Talking with your doctor can help clarify your treatment goals. Clarify what you hope to gain from treatment and what you can expect while receiving palliative chemotherapy.
Palliative care is important for relieving symptoms and improving quality of life. Palliative chemotherapy can be part of that, particularly for the treatment of incurable cancer.
Talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of this treatment option to determine whether palliative chemotherapy is right for you.
Connect with us!
Join our Cancer Care newsletter and check out our Cancer Care hub.