Why palliative care is essential in the face of serious illness

When dealing with a serious or terminal illness, palliative care physician and TEDMED 2018 speaker, Steve Pantilat reminds us that “even in the midst of chaos there is hope”.  However, this kind of hope is different than the hope that the person will recover or be cured. In fact, at a certain point, false hope may be detrimental. As Steve asserts in his Talk, “In the end false hope is no hope because it’s not based in reality. And you might wonder, ‘Oh, what's the harm of a little false hope?...’ The harm is that we squander our time, that we pursue and accept treatments that are more likely to hurt than help. And most important that we miss the opportunity to achieve what is possible. We have to be in the realistic hope business—the true hope business.” Learn more in Steve's 2018 Talk, “Why palliative care is essential in the face of serious illness”. Visit TEDMED.com to read more about Steve and his work.