Being Mortal

by

Atul Gawande

Palliative Care Term Analysis

Palliative care is a type of medical care that focuses on relieving suffering. Hospice care is a type of palliative care.

Palliative Care Quotes in Being Mortal

The Being Mortal quotes below are all either spoken by Palliative Care or refer to Palliative Care. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Medicine, Survival, and Well-being Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

The result: those who saw a palliative care specialist stopped chemotherapy sooner, entered hospice far earlier, experienced less suffering at the end of their lives—and they lived 25 percent longer. In other words, our decision making in medicine has failed so spectacularly that we have reached the point of actively inflicting harm on patients rather than confronting the subject of mortality. If end-of-life discussions were an experimental drug, the FDA would approve it.

Related Characters: Dr. Atul Gawande (speaker), Sara Monopoli
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

We witnessed for ourselves the consequences of living for the best possible day today instead of sacrificing time now for time later. He’d become all but wheelchair bound. But his slide into complete quadriplegia halted. He became more able to manage short distances with a walker. His control of his hands and his arm strength improved. He had less trouble calling people on the phone and using his laptop. The greater predictability of his day let him have more visitors over. Soon he even began hosting parties at our house again. He found that in the narrow space of possibility that his awful tumor had left for him there was still room to live.

Related Characters: Dr. Atul Gawande (speaker), Gawande’s Father
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Being Mortal LitChart as a printable PDF.
Being Mortal PDF

Palliative Care Term Timeline in Being Mortal

The timeline below shows where the term Palliative Care appears in Being Mortal. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
Medicine, Survival, and Well-being Theme Icon
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
...received oncology care and another group which received the same care plus visits with a palliative care specialist, who specializes in preventing and relieving suffering. Those who saw a palliative care specialist... (full context)
Medicine, Survival, and Well-being Theme Icon
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
...your life” sounded harsh, like Gawande was dropping her off a cliff. Susan Block, a palliative care specialist, explains that doctors often make mistakes in these conversations: for them, the primary purpose... (full context)
Medicine, Survival, and Well-being Theme Icon
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
...not to put her on a breathing machine if things got worse. They gave her palliative care and morphine, but they stopped the medical team from putting a catheter in or doing... (full context)
Chapter 7
Medicine, Survival, and Well-being Theme Icon
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
Bob Arnold, a palliative care physician, explained to Gawande that the mistake clinicians make in these situations is to supply... (full context)
Chapter 8
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
The Evolution of End-of-Life Care Theme Icon
...is a good life to the very end. The Dutch have been slower to develop palliative care programs. But sometimes suffering is unavoidable, and helping people end that suffering may be necessary.... (full context)
Epilogue
Destigmatizing Death and Illness Theme Icon
Palliative care helps bring this kind of thinking to dying patients, but every doctor should help patients... (full context)