[When does palliative care begin and who decides?].
Contrary to a widespread approach, palliative care does not begin when curative care stops. Care is a single entity and an ongoing process which sometimes leads the person not to recovery but to progression of the illness and death. The proportion of treatments intended for recovery and treatments intended for palliative care thus changes over time and over the course of the illness. The sick person, who is most directly concerned, but also sometimes the doctor, may find themselves in denial of the palliative phase; this leads them to "dismiss" entering into acknowledgement of uncertainty and finiteness, and towards a form of stubbornness.
Aubry
Régis
R
Département douleurs, soins palliatifs, hôpital Jean-Minjoz, CHU Besançon, 25030 Besançon Cedex. raubry@chu-besancon.fr
D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*