Palliative Treatment: Redefining Interventions To Treat Suffering Near the End of Life

Abstract

Abstract

The treatment of suffering is now recognized as an essential component of medical care. By referring to this treatment as “palliative care,” however, we diminish its importance. In this essay, we propose a shift in our conception of the treatment of suffering and advocate for the use of a new term: “palliative treatment.” We argue that the word “treatment” is more appropriate than “care” because the interventions we employ are evidence-based, goal-directed, and effective in diminishing suffering. We articulate that this alteration in terminology is necessary because it facilitates patient and physician understanding of the importance and efficacy of palliative treatment interventions. We enumerate four distinct forms of suffering that each requires treatment: physical, psychological, existential, and spiritual. Finally, we argue that in rare cases when aggressive palliative treatment has been unsuccessful in diminishing suffering to a degree that is bearable, allowing death to occur unimpeded may be viewed as therapeutic because in death the patient's suffering is finally ended.