When your child is battling an advanced illness, it’s a stressful time for everyone.
As the parent, you might feel overwhelmed at the level of care your child needs. Our Supportive and Palliative Care program can help. We provide extra support and resources so you can focus on the one you need to focus on most: your child.
Supportive and Palliative Care experts will help make your child more comfortable. They offer:
- Pain management
- Nutrition advice
- Emotional support for your child and your child’s whole family
- Other specialized services
Supportive and Palliative Care — available anytime
As a parent, watching your child go through an advanced illness and lengthy treatment can drain your mind, body and spirit. Our Supportive and Palliative Care Team at Roswell Park works closely with your child’s doctor to decide if a referral should be made to use palliative care.
Research shows that patients who utilize supportive and palliative care live longer, have better pain control, and feel happier and less anxious.
Our services can be added at any point during your child’s care plan. Palliative care can be used along with your child’s current treatment plan; it’s not true that it’s only offered to patients who are ending healing treatment.
Is Palliative Care right for your child?
We understand that any change or addition to your child’s care plan can be scary. The questions below will help you decide if it would help to add palliative care to your child’s care plan.
Does your child have one or more of these symptoms?
- Pain
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Lack of appetite
- Nausea
- Constipation
Has your child experienced the following?
- A change in the focus of his or her treatment or care
- Frequent unscheduled clinic visits, emergency room visits, or hospital admissions
Do you need help with one or more of the following?
- Planning for your child’s ongoing care needs
- Health care decision-making for your child
- Emotional or mental health support for your child or yourself
- Spiritual support for your child or yourself
- Legal concerns
- Concerns about finances
Our Supportive and Palliative Care team
Roswell Park’s pediatric Supportive and Palliative Care team is made up of:
- Doctors, including pediatric palliative care experts
- Nurses
- Therapists
- Chaplains
- Mental health professionals
- Social workers who can help with health care planning and financial concerns
Contact us
If your child could benefit from these supportive care services, please talk with your child’s doctor about a referral or call us at 716-845-1619 for more information.