When doctors diagnosed Pilar Alcantara with advanced breast cancer, she felt lost and intimidated.
Growing up in Mexico, she learned to deal with illnesses using home remedies and prayer. She was taught that doctors weren't to be questioned, and she preferred not to know the details of her illnesses or treatment plans.
She felt hopeless, but that was before she connected with a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit that takes cultural habits and beliefs into account while focusing on comfort and quality of life for patients with serious or terminal illnesses. She said the approach saved her.
"A few years ago, because of the pain and uncertainty, I wanted to bail on life," Alcantara said. "Palliative care gave me more control over my cancer."
Palliative care, which focuses on the well-being of patients with serious illnesses by improving doctor-patient communication and treating pain and side effects, has gained traction across the nation, but the culturally sensitive model embraced by Familias en Accion, the treatment center that has helped Alcantara, represents a new approach.
[For more of this story, written by Gosia Wozniacka, go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...iative-approach.html]
Comments (0)