Nov 6, 2018
Palliative care is not often thought of in relation to Parkinson’s disease, but as people understand its relevance and benefits, more people with Parkinson’s are adding it to their usual care. Palliation means to ease the burden of the symptoms of a disease, whether that burden is physical, emotional, or spiritual, and that burden can extend beyond the person with the disease to caregivers. Benzi Kluger, MD, MS, director of the University of Colorado’s Neurology and Supportive Care clinics, says that palliative care should begin at the time of diagnosis. He describes the results of a new study on palliative care in Parkinson’s and how it benefited the study participants who received it and viewed it as ‘supportive care’, as well as how palliative care can be incorporated in the day to day routine of people with Parkinson’s.