Show 1097: What Can Be Done to Help When the Prognosis Is Poor
The People's Pharmacy
Joe and Terry Graedon
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 October 2017
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Although lifespans have been increasing, so has the burden of chronic disease. When a person is diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, cirrhosis, kidney disease, heart failure or Parkinson’s, medical science may not have a cure. But doctors shouldn’t say, there’s nothing more we can do. Instead, they should ask, how can we help this patient live better, if not longer? That is the goal of palliative care.
What Is Palliative Care?
Many people imagine that palliative care is strictly for the very end of life. But they are underestimating its usefulness in so many other situations. Helping patients focus on what is most important to them can help them live better, whether their prognosis is for a few months or for a number of years. When expected life span is limited, it may make sense for doctors to discontinue drugs that are intended to help keep patients healthy in the long run and to maintain the medicines that help people feel better, including pain medications.
What Should Patients Ask After the Diagnosis?
Many people presented with a frightening diagnosis want to know how long they can expect to live, as well as what symptoms to anticipate. Dr. Pantilat urges patients to ask questions about this, and to be as explicit as possible. Patients may also need to ask for help achieving their most important goals, such as attending a child’s wedding. If doctors are asked explicitly, they may be able to indicate which goals are unrealistic and which might be reached through modifying current plans.
This Week’s Guest:
Steven Pantilat, MD, is professor of medicine in the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the Kates-Burnard and Hellman Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care and the founding director of the UCSF Palliative Care Program. In 2007, this program received a Circle of Life Award in recognition of excellence and innovation from the American Hospital Association.
His book is Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and Their Caregivers. His website is www.lifeafterthediagnosis.com
Listen to the Podcast:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Joe Graydon. |
| 0:02.3 | I'm Terry Graydon. |
| 0:03.8 | Welcome to this podcast of the People's Pharmacy, where we bring you the stories behind the health headlines. |
| 0:10.2 | This podcast is brought to you by Redux Industries, makers of utterly smooth body cream. |
| 0:16.0 | 800-345-7339 on the web at utter cream.com. |
| 0:21.6 | Are we living longer but enjoying it less? |
| 0:33.6 | Chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer are taking a toll. How can we live better? |
| 0:39.9 | This is the People's Pharmacy with Terry and Joe Graydon. |
| 0:50.3 | When people get a frightening diagnosis of a life-threatening condition, they may not hear what the doctor is saying. |
| 0:57.3 | But after the diagnosis, what kind of care can help people feel better, both physically and emotionally? |
| 1:04.2 | What is the role for palliative care? |
| 1:07.1 | When a doctor says there's nothing more we can do, it means we can't cure your condition, |
| 1:12.3 | but there's always something that can be done to improve quality of life. |
| 1:16.2 | What about effective pain management? |
| 1:19.1 | Coming up on the people's pharmacy, life after the diagnosis. |
| 1:25.5 | First, the news. |
| 1:30.2 | In the people's pharmacy health headlines, |
| 1:33.4 | If you want a healthy heart, fill your plate with vegetables. |
| 1:37.3 | That seems to be the message from an important study in mice. |
| 1:41.3 | The scientists at the University of Alabama found that mice given low potassium chow |
| 1:46.5 | were more likely to develop hardened arteries due to calcium deposits in the vessel walls. |
| 1:52.9 | Mice provided a high potassium diet, had far more flexible arteries, and less vascular calcification. |
... |
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