Terminal illness is a shocking and devastating diagnosis. When an individual is deemed to be terminally ill, he/she is suffering from an illness or a disease that will become progressively worse. These diseases are unable to be cured, and therefore, an individual suffering from a terminal illness will eventually die from the disease.

Throughout the duration of the illness, a patient will become weaker and weaker, his/her physical condition continuing to deteriorate. In general, the term “terminally ill” is reserved for patients that are expected to die within six months. There are many different types of terminal diseases. Numerous types of cancer are often incurable and will result in the death of a sufferer; for example, lung cancer, acute leukemia, and pancreatic cancer are forms of cancer that are generally considered to be terminal cases.

While sufferers of these diseases have a small chance of survival, these illnesses kill millions of people. Hepatitis B and AIDS are often commonly referred to as terminal illnesses. This is especially true when these diseases progress and the sufferer enters his/her final months of life.

When an individual is diagnosed as terminally ill, many concerns are raised for both the patient and his/her family. These concerns are emotional, physical, and spiritual in nature. A patient who is suffering from a terminal illness must go through the process of acceptance. When he/she is first diagnosed as terminally ill, he/she will generally experience disbelief and denial.

After a short period of time, these emotions will change to anger and depression. It is common for a terminally ill patient to feel as if he/she has been unfairly shorted. Fear is a common emotion faced by individuals that are suffering from a terminal illness. They often feel anxious about the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

In most cases, a terminally ill patient will eventually come to terms with his/her condition and will begin planning for the time that he/she has left. He/she may begin preparing advance directives and arranging his/her affairs. A patient and his/her family will also consider specific applications of end-of-life care. This may include palliative care and hospice care.

One of the primary concerns individuals with terminal illness face are the prospects of pain and suffering. Many terminal patients fear that they will experience increasingly intense pain as their illness progresses. Often, the symptoms associated with these severe illnesses are severe and, at times, overwhelming. Palliative care can help to decrease the severity of these symptoms while an individual is receiving treatment intended to cure his/her illness.

However, if curative treatment is unsuccessful and there is nothing more that can be done, a terminally ill individual may seek hospice care. This treatment will ensure that he/she remains comfortable during the final weeks of his/her life. While hospice care will not extend an individual’s life, it will help to guarantee that he/she is as pain-free as possible. 

When an individual is suffering from a serious illness, he/she will often experience extensive pain or discomfort. Symptoms may become unmanageable and impinge on an individual’s everyday life. Severe illness often makes it difficult for an individual to take part in activities that he/she once enjoyed. If a patient is suffering from a hospice care

However, there are important differences that distinguish these two forms of medical care. When an individual is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he/she will often seek hospice care in order to obtain palliative treatment. However, hospice care is reserved for individuals that are suffering from fatal illnesses.

It is a form of palliative care that seeks to comfort patients that have a short life expectancy. Generally, individuals that are receiving hospice care are expected to survive for fewer than six months. When palliative treatment is being administered to a patient by a hospice staff, treatment to cure the patient’s illness has already been stopped. At this point, the medical staff is only attempting to ease pain and provide support, not supply a cure.

On the other hand, palliative care may be administered to an individual suffering from any type of illness at any point during the duration of the illness. A patient who is receiving palliative treatment may sustain a relatively minor, but painful illness. In instances such as this, palliative care will be administered to relieve the symptoms a patient is experiencing. While hospice care is reserved for the final stages of an individual’s life, palliative care may be administered at any point after an initial diagnosis. This type of treatment usually occurs in conjunction with other treatments that are intended to cure a patient.

Palliative care may involve a wide range of different treatment techniques. Physicians may provide patients with painkillers in order to reduce discomfort. Surgery may be utilized, too, in order to supply relief by correcting internal errors, such as removing blockages. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may assist in diminishing the size of tumors, which may decrease the severity of symptoms; for example, after these types of procedures, a patient may experience relief from nausea.

Biological therapy and hormone therapy may have similar results. Although these procedures are not intended to cure an individual’s illness, they may be effective in providing him/her with relief and comfort.