Palliative Care

If you have a family member who is suffering from serious and chronic illness, the ION team is here to support your loved one and your family with our palliative care services. Palliative care is a specialty within the field of medicine that seeks to enhance the quality of life for patients facing serious illnesses such as terminal cancer, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, Alzheimer, Parkinson’s, and other illnesses.

The goal is to provide relief for both the patient and the family. By alleviating suffering from pain and other distressing symptoms, such as bleeding and respiratory problems, our specialized palliative care approach integrates the physical with the psychosocial, emotional and spiritual aspects of patient care.

ION’s palliative care mission is to enhance the quality of life for our patients. Our specialized medical team becomes an important support system to help families cope during their loved one’s illness.

 

Precise doses of radiation are generally combined with anti-inflammatory and pain medications to maximize relief of cancer-related symptoms. Radiation therapy is particularly useful in alleviating pain associated with tumors that are arising from, or invading into bone. Two-thirds of patients have moderate to significant improvement, and the effects can last from a few weeks to several months. A decrease in symptoms can occur as quickly as several days after the first treatment, or in some cases, it may take a few weeks before improvement is seen. Radiation Therapy or Radiotherapy is an effective, precise, well-tolerated, and cost-effective modality of treatment for patients with advanced cancer.

Radiosurgery in palliative oncology care offers unique advantages. The goals of radiosurgery are symptom relief either at the site of the primary tumor or from metastatic lesions. Often the patient can be treated with 5 or less fractions as in the case of brain, spine and liver metastases. It is an excellent alternative for advanced cancers such as pancreatic tumors or sarcomas. Innovative approaches such as radiosurgery include rapid response and minimal or no toxicity so it is safe and effective even for patients who have already received radiotherapy.