What is the focus of palliative care?

• A. Cure the disease
• B. Relief of pain and symptoms and quality of life improvement, regardless of prognosis
• C. Only care in last days
• D. Aggressive life-sustaining treatment always

Answer: (B)

Palliative care centers on relief of pain and other distressing symptoms and improving quality of life for people with serious illness, no matter what the prognosis is. It isn’t about curing the disease, though it can be provided alongside treatments aiming to cure or slow the disease. It isn’t limited to the last days of life and can begin early in the illness, often alongside disease-directed therapies. It also emphasizes aligning care with the patient’s goals, sometimes reducing unnecessary treatments in favor of comfort. So the focus is symptom relief and quality of life, regardless of prognosis.