Palliative care is medical care that focuses on comfort, quality of life and support. It’s for kids with serious or life-limiting illnesses.

This includes:

• Pain care
• Managing symptoms or side effects
• Supporting emotional and spiritual well-being
• Helping your family make difficult decisions

It is not the same as end-of-life care. Your child can receive palliative care at any stage of their illness. They may access palliative care while getting other treatments for their illness. These can include treatments that can lead to a cure or significantly improve their illness.

We work closely with your child’s care team to create a care plan that matches your family’s needs, values, and goals. We’re here to help your child live as fully as possible — and to make sure your family never feels alone.

We offer families a palliative care consult when a doctor diagnoses your child with a life-limiting illness. Any child with a medically complex diagnosis could benefit from having palliative care experts on their care team.

This may include, but is certainly not limited to:

• Genetic conditions
• Brain injuries
• Progressive cancer
• Metabolic disorders
• Immunodeficiencies
• Neurological disorders

Our experts care for kids of any age, including premature infants, newborns and babies, kids and teens. Studies show that palliative care improves the overall well-being of seriously ill kids and their families.

If your child is living with a serious illness, you may have questions about how palliative care fits into their care. We’re here to answer your questions and show you how palliative care can support your child and your family.

When can palliative care begin?

At Children's Wisconsin, we provide palliative care along with any other treatment kids receive. We help them be comfortable at any stage of illness. Our team stays with your family every step of the way to ensure your child gets the care they deserve.

When kids get palliative care, do other treatments stop?

Not in most cases. Palliative care works with all medical treatments. It is our goal to make your child’s medical care plan easier to handle.

However, if your child’s health issue will lead to death, you may decide not to pursue other medical treatments, just palliative care.

Is palliative care right for my child?

If your child has a complex or life-threatening illness, palliative care may help. Our palliative care team will work to treat your child's symptoms and help them better tolerate side effects.

Palliative care may be good for your child if they need help:

• Managing pain, symptoms or side effects
• Understanding their condition
• Learning to cope with the day-to-day realities of being seriously sick
• Building the best care team possible