Palliative treatment is care directed at relieving the symptoms, distress, and suffering of patients with serious, progressive, or life-limiting illness, with the aim of improving quality of life rather than curing the underlying disease. It takes a holistic, team-based approach that addresses physical symptoms such…
Palliative treatment is care directed at relieving the symptoms, distress, and suffering of patients with serious, progressive, or life-limiting illness, with the aim of improving quality of life rather than curing the underlying disease. It takes a holistic, team-based approach that addresses physical symptoms such as pain, alongside the psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of illness, and it extends support to patients' families and caregivers. Palliative treatment can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, often in conjunction with disease-directed therapy, and it becomes central in advanced and end-of-life care, including within hospice settings. Research relevant to this field includes the provision of palliative care for cancer patients and their relatives through community-based psychosocial support, the management of advanced and metastatic disease such as gastrointestinal melanoma and metastatic lung cancer, and the psychological aspects of facing serious illness, including the prevention of death anxiety through familiarity with the concept of death. Core themes include comprehensive symptom control, attention to psychosocial and spiritual wellbeing, support for families and caregivers, and communication around prognosis and goals of care. By focusing on comfort, dignity, and quality of life across the trajectory of serious illness, palliative treatment complements curative efforts where possible and provides compassionate, person-centred care when cure is not achievable.
7 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 7 articles above have been cited 4 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Palliative Treatment, linking to each citing work.