Palliative care is not just about end-of-life. It focuses on quality of life and what is meaningful and important to the person and chosen family throughout the illness, not just at end of life or when treatment options are limited. All practitioners can contribute to a palliative approach to care by ensuring care is guided by the patients' priorities and personal values, giving patients and chosen families a greater sense of control. 

The palliative care approach recognizes that, in a health care system focused on cure and treatment, people may not be given the opportunity to talk about their goals of care or be fully informed about their illness and prognosis. 

From diagnosis and throughout the illness, the palliative care approach focuses primarily on: 

• Open and sensitive communication 
• Advance care planning, including discussing treatment options and determining level of intervention 
• Psychosocial and spiritual support to help the person and family with any issues related to the illness 
• Optimizing pain or symptom management 
• Grief supports for patients, chosen families, and caregivers
• Engaging with specialty palliative care providers when needed for support with challenging physical, psychosocial, or spiritual symptoms