Living Well With Serious Illness
Living Well With Serious Illness – For You and Your Chosen Family.
NSHPCA advocates for a future where every Nova Scotian receives care grounded in the palliative approach: early, integrated, holistic, and accessible to all.
The Palliative Approach to Care
What is a Palliative Approach?
A palliative approach brings the principles of palliative care into everyday healthcare early in the illness journey, not just at the end-of-life. It is person-centred, includes chosen family, and supports people across the life span — from infants to older adults — to live as well as possible for as long as possible.
Key Features:
- Applied early, even when prognosis is uncertain.
- Delivered alongside disease-directed treatments.
- Respects personal goals, values, cultural traditions and beliefs, and chosen family.
- Honors customs and ceremonies important to the person and chosen supports.
- Focus on autonomy, shared decision-making, and quality of life.
- Holistic assessment: physical, emotional, social, cultural, spiritual.
- Supports emotional and mental wellbeing for patients and chosen supports throughout illness.
Understanding Palliative Care Across the Lifespan
Palliative care is active, person-centred care for people of all ages — from infants to older adults — living with serious life-limiting illnesses. It improves quality of life for patients and their chosen supports by preventing and relieving suffering through early identification and management of symptoms — physical, emotional, social, and spiritual.
Key Principles:
- Improves quality of life.
- Relieves symptoms such as pain, nausea, anxiety and depression, breathing difficulties, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping.
- Supports informed decision-making.
Promotes emotional and mental wellbeing for patients and chosen supports. - Aligns care with personal goals, values, cultural traditions and beliefs, and chosen family relationships.
- Respects customs and ceremonies during care and at end-of-life.
Advance Care Planning
Advance Care Planning (ACP) helps you make decisions about future healthcare based on your values, goals, cultural traditions and beliefs, and chosen family relationships. It ensures your voice guides your care, even if you cannot speak for yourself. Having a plan can help with anxiety, stress, and fears for the future.
Steps:
- Reflect on your personal goals, values, cultural practices, and chosen family.
- Communicate with your personal supports and health care providers.
- Advance care planning means having discussions with family and friends.
- Select your Substitute Decision Maker/Delegate and then document your wishes, ensuring they understand your preferences and can speak on your behalf if needed.
Care Options as End-of-Life Approaches
When end-of-life approaches, care shifts to what matters most—comfort, dignity, and support for you and those important to you. Every decision respects your goals, values, cultural traditions, and ceremonies that bring meaning and peace
Explore Palliative Care Services
Home-Based Care
Many people prefer to remain at home during the final stages of life, surrounded by familiar spaces and loved ones. Home-based palliative care brings professional support to you, including symptom management, emotional and spiritual care, and guidance for your chosen supports. Care is provided by a combination of primary care providers such as family physicians or nurse practitioners, home care services, community-based palliative consult teams, and may include programs such as the Special Patient Program delivered by EHS. Family caregivers and personal supports play an essential role in providing day-to-day care and emotional support, working alongside healthcare professionals to ensure comfort and dignity at home. This approach helps maintain autonomy while reducing unnecessary hospital visits.
Hospice
Hospice care provides a homelike environment designed for comfort and dignity. These settings offer palliative care for people nearing the end of life, with an emphasis on symptom management, emotional support, and honoring cultural traditions. Hospice teams also support families and chosen supports, helping them navigate this time with compassion and understanding. In Nova Scotia, adult hospice locations include:
- Valley Hospice, Kentville – 10 Beds
- Hospice Cape Breton, Sydney – 10 Beds
- Hospice Halifax, Halifax – 10 Beds
- Fisherman’s Memorial Hospice, Lunenburg – 5 Beds
Hospital Settings (Medical Unit)
Many hospitals provide palliative care within medical units. This care focuses on symptom management, emotional support, and aligning treatment with your goals and values while you remain in a hospital setting.
- Some hospitals have rooms that have been decorated and are supported by local Hospice/Palliative Care Societies to make them more comfortable.
- Where available, Palliative Care Consult Teams will support the delivery of care.
Designated Palliative Care Unit
These specialized units offer a dedicated environment for people with complex needs at the end of life. Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team trained in palliative care, ensuring comfort, dignity, and comprehensive support for both you and those important to you. These units also provide short-term assessment and symptom management to support patients who choose to have end-of-life care at home. In Nova Scotia, Designated Palliative Care Units are located at the following hospitals:
- Cape Breton Regional – 9 beds
- Aberdeen Hospital – 6 beds
- Colchester East Hants Health Centre -10 beds
- St. Martha’s Regional Hospital – 6 beds
- QEII – Victoria General – 10 beds
Long-Term Care & Residential Facilities
The delivery of palliative care in a long-term care (LTC) or residential setting recognizes that this environment is the resident’s home. Care is therefore grounded in dignity, comfort, choice, and familiarity. Palliative care supports residents living with life-limiting or progressive conditions by enhancing quality of life and honouring the meaningful routines, relationships, and personal environment they have established in their home.
Continuing Care
Long-term care facilities provide services for people who need ongoing care; either on a long-term basis (permanent placement) or short-term basis (respite care).
There are two types of long-term care facilities available, nursing homes and residential care facilities.
What are nursing homes?
Nursing homes are important options for people who have difficulty performing everyday tasks such as, dressing, bathing and toileting. Nursing home placement is appropriate for people who are medically stable but have nursing needs that cannot be met through home care.
What are residential care facilities?
When Home Care does not meet the needs of a person and nursing home care is not required, a residential care facility may be the solution. Residential care facilities provide people with personal care, supervision and accommodation in a safe and supportive environment. (People living in residential care facilities must have the ability to self-evacuate in the event of an emergency.)
More information on what nursing homes and residential care facilities provide can be found here.
Myth Busting.
Common Myths About Palliative Care:
Myth: Palliative care is only for people who are dying.
Reality: Palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness and is appropriate early in the disease trajectory.
Myth: Accepting palliative care means giving up on treatment.
Reality: Palliative care can be offered alongside life-prolonging or curative treatments.
Myth: Palliative care is the same as hospice or end-of-life care.
Reality: Hospice/end-of-life care is one part of palliative care, but palliative care is broader and addresses comfort and quality of life long before the final days.
Myth: Palliative care speeds up death.
Reality: Palliative care focuses on comfort, symptom relief, and quality of life—it does not hasten or delay death.
Myth: Palliative care means stopping all medications.
Reality: Residents continue to receive medications and treatments that provide benefit or comfort; only burdensome or unnecessary interventions may be discontinued.
Myth: Palliative care is only about pain management.
Reality: It also addresses emotional, social, spiritual, and psychological needs.
Myth: Choosing palliative care means losing control.
Reality: It actually supports autonomy, encouraging residents to make decisions aligned with their values and preferences.
Myth: Families are excluded from palliative care decisions.
Reality: Families are essential partners and are actively involved in planning and support.
Myth: Palliative care is only provided in hospitals.
Reality: Palliative care is delivered in many settings—including long-term care, which is the resident’s home.
Myth: Providing palliative care means the healthcare team is ‘giving up.’
Reality: It represents a shift in focus toward improving quality of life, comfort, and meaningful living.
Myth: Residents will become ‘addicted’ to pain medications.
Reality: When opioids are used appropriately for symptom management, addiction is extremely unlikely.
Myth: Palliative care speeds up death.
Reality: Palliative care focuses on comfort, symptom relief, and quality of life—it does not hasten or delay death.
Myth: Palliative care is only for older adults.
Reality: Palliative care is based on needs, not age.