ABSTRACT
Palliative care is the treatment of advanced, incurable disease. This includes planning for death and may extend to bereavement support. Its main aims are excellent symptom control coupled with excellent communication with patients and their carers to maximise quality of life. Its purpose is neither to shorten life nor to prolong the dying process. A thorough review of all aspects of the specialty is beyond the scope of this book. Here a brief review of the management of some of the specific problems of palliative care is presented. For those in search of further information, a useful, free online resource is available at: learning. https://hospiceuk.org">hospiceuk.org (accessed December 2014).
