Updated on: Aug 29, 2022

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is a type of care that offer physical, emotional, social and spiritual support for people with cancer and their families.

Palliative care services can start as early as diagnosis, through treatment of your symptoms, to end of life care. It can be used by anyone, at any age, at any stage of their cancer care journey.

Depending on your needs you might receive palliative care in an outpatient clinic, in the hospital, in a community clinic, or at home.

Palliative care teams often include:

  • A Palliative Care Physician (doctor)
  • Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner
  • Palliative Care Nurse or Clinical Resource Nurse
  • Spiritual Care Practitioner/Provider

And might include or refer to a:

  • Social worker
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Physiotherapist
  • Personal Support Worker


Hospital Based Oncology Palliative Care

Pain & Symptom Management Team

The Pain & Symptom Management Team can help you to manage pain or symptoms from your cancer. This team offers care to outpatients who come to Grand River Regional Cancer Centre, or partner sites, for cancer care. You can see them before starting, during or after treatment based on your health needs.

Your appointments can be over the phone, virtually (via OTN) or in person.

The Pain & Symptom Management Team can:

  • Help manage side effects from your cancer or treatments
  • Learn about your needs and help relieve pain
  • Work with your Oncologist and Oncology Nurse to improve your overall wellbeing

Palliative Care Consult Team

This is a service that you can access as an inpatient (someone who is staying overnight on the cancer unit) at Grand River Regional Cancer Centre.

This team of Palliative Care doctors and Nurse Practitioners offers the same services as the PSM team (see list above), but inside the hospital. They will visit you, or your loved one, while in the hospital.

The palliative care team works closely with your health care team to help treat you, manage your pain, and put a plan in place for you when you go home.

Community Based Palliative Care

Waterloo Wellington Integrated Hospice Palliative Care (WWIHPC)

The Integrated Hospice Palliative Care Regional Program works to support the equitable access to high quality hospice palliative care for all residents of Waterloo Wellington LHIN. The WWIHPC Regional Program supports hospice palliative care partners to work together and deliver seamless and well planned hospice palliative care across the Waterloo Wellington LHIN.

Learn more about the WWIHPC.


Caredove

Caredove helps to make transitions in health care better and easier. Community palliative care services have been organized for you to search using Caredove.

Visit CareDove for direct links to palliative care services near you!

Understanding Palliative Care - Canadian Cancer Society