In severe and incurable diseases with massive restrictions of quality of life, palliative care offers a life without pain and without respiratory distress, until death occurs naturally. lifecircle provides palliative information about palliative clinics and possibilities of palliative care at home.

If a member suffers from a serious incurable disease and this disease has lead to a massive reduction in quality of life, so that the member decides against any further life-sustaining medical procedures, palliative care provides a life without pain or shortness of breath until death occurs in a natural way. Here analgesic and sedative drugs are used in a dose that allows the member to wait for death without suffering.

If pain and shortness of breath can be made bearable only with extremely high doses of medicine, a dose can be applied through which life is shortened as a part of palliative care. But in contrast to the assisted voluntary death, in palliative care a deadly dose of any drug will never be applied.

In this unconsciousness the person then glides within a few days slowly into death. Before the palliative sedation is applied, he or she can say good-bye to the relatives. Usually the patient does not reach awareness until he or she dies. This type of accompaniment can take place at home with the assistance of home care and the family physician, or in a hospice.

lifecircle offers advice on palliative care clinics and palliative therapies at home.