Amy is in her mid-40s and loves the outdoors—especially biking, hiking, and walking her dog.
In the fall of 2018, she felt a lump on her neck, and when it did not go away, she visited her primary care doctor. After many tests, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and femur (thigh bone). She was devastated and scared.
A few weeks later, Amy started treatment with radiation and a medicine that helps the body’s immune system fight cancer. This combination can get cancer under control but can cause side effects.
After a month, Amy’s cancer doctor recognized that she could use an extra layer of support to deal with her symptoms and stress. A palliative care nurse started to visit her at home every week and was available by phone whenever Amy needed to reach out. She helped Amy through her difficult treatments, both physically and emotionally. The goal was to get her back to feeling like herself again, which to her, meant being active and riding her bike.
This is Amy’s palliative care story.
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Amy is in her mid-40s and loves the outdoors—especially biking, hiking, and walking her dog.
In the fall of 2018, she felt a lump on her neck, and when it did not go away, she visited her primary care doctor. After many tests, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and femur (thigh bone). She was devastated and scared.
A few weeks later, Amy started treatment with radiation and a medicine that helps the body’s immune system fight cancer. This combination can get cancer under control but can cause side effects.
After a month, Amy’s cancer doctor recognized that she could use an extra layer of support to deal with her symptoms and stress. A palliative care nurse started to visit her at home every week and was available by phone whenever Amy needed to reach out. She helped Amy through her difficult treatments, both physically and emotionally. The goal was to get her back to feeling like herself again, which to her, meant being active and riding her bike.
This is Amy’s palliative care story.
In this special-edition podcast, Diane E. Meier, MD, of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, and Mary Mittleman, DrPH, of NYU Langone Health, discuss why making a dementia diagnosis is important for successfully managing other health conditions, and the many care elements that can make a difference for patients and caregivers.
Meier and Mittleman acknowledge the difficulty for making the diagnosis, given treatment options, and offer ideas for integrating better dementia care, from physicians doing memory scans to look for memory loss that is impacting daily function, to being supported with access to the right staff for counseling family members and patients, and other psychosocial interventions.
For background on Dr. Mittleman, she and her team provide support for family caregivers through NYU’s New York State-backed Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Family Support Program. Focusing on the psychosocial, the team provides interventions via support, education, and referrals which make a difference, and improves quality of life for the family, and those with dementia. A popular result of the program is the chorus, ‘The Unforgettables‘, composed of those living with dementia, and their family members; its members have been performing concerts in New York since 2011.
Get Palliative Care
Amy is in her mid-40s and loves the outdoors—especially biking, hiking, and walking her dog.
In the fall of 2018, she felt a lump on her neck, and when it did not go away, she visited her primary care doctor. After many tests, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and femur (thigh bone). She was devastated and scared.
A few weeks later, Amy started treatment with radiation and a medicine that helps the body’s immune system fight cancer. This combination can get cancer under control but can cause side effects.
After a month, Amy’s cancer doctor recognized that she could use an extra layer of support to deal with her symptoms and stress. A palliative care nurse started to visit her at home every week and was available by phone whenever Amy needed to reach out. She helped Amy through her difficult treatments, both physically and emotionally. The goal was to get her back to feeling like herself again, which to her, meant being active and riding her bike.
This is Amy’s palliative care story.
