Palliative care: what is it?

Palliative care developed during the hospice movement. Hospice was associated as a rest place for weary travelers in ancient times, many of whom were ill. Hospice first became associated with the dying in France in 1842; the first modern hospice, St. Christopher's Hospice, was established in London by Dame Cicely Saunders in 1967. It was the first facility founded as a "place" to care for the dying. In 1974, the first U.S. hospice was established in Connecticut based on a home care model. In 1975, Balfour Mount, MD, founded the Palliative Care Service in The Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal; the concept of "palliative care" in North America was established (Sheehan & Forman, 1996). The traditional view of palliative care indicates that symptomatic and supportive care are generally withheld until all attempts to treat the underlying disease and other medical problems are exhausted. Many times, palliative care is offered with little time left for living. Palliative care should be considered in conjunction with active treatment, and, as death nears, palliative care becomes more important as active treatment while cure become less important.