What services are there for me now?

Your care and treatment needs may be changing during your illness. It may be that your cancer is no longer responding fully to active treatment such as chemotherapy or maintenance drugs. You may find that the side effects of your treatment are starting to outweigh its benefits to your health.

These changes can happen if your illness is progressing, or you might have been diagnosed when your cancer was at a later stage.

Your clinical team might suggest that it is time to review your care and treatment and discuss whether to focus on symptom control for your best quality of life. Your GP may also help you to choose this care and refer you to the services you need.

Speak to our support line.

Do you have questions about ovarian cancer or your diagnosis?
Our support line is here:

Monday - Friday 10am-5pm.

Call 0808 008 7054 or email support@ovacome.org.uk

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is given to improve quality of life. It aims to keep you as well as possible for as long as possible by treating your symptoms and side effects as early as possible. You can receive palliative care while you are still having active treatment.It can be called supportive care and symptom management or comfort care. You can get this care at home, in an outpatient clinic, in hospital and at a hospice as an outpatient or an inpatient.

Your condition may stabilise while you are receiving palliative care, so you could then be discharged from the service or admission, but you can always return if you need to.

Palliative care aims to manage symptoms rather than cure the cancer. For instance, providing effective pain control, helping with shortness of breath, loss of appetite, fatigue, or difficulty sleeping.

You will receive care and treatments that will address problems that stop you living your life to the full. These may not always be physical problems. Palliative care also supports people’s emotional and spiritual needs, supports families, and can provide help with financial and legal issues.

Will I have to use a hospice?

Most palliative care is given in the community, but that is often delivered by hospices and their staff and other professionals who work with them.

Hospices are mostly known for the inpatient end of life care they provide, and this is still an important and valued service. However, around 40 per cent of hospice inpatients come for a short stay to get more complex physical or psychological symptoms under control and then go home again.

You may be able to have all the care you need given to you at home. But hospices offer opportunities to take part in activities such as music and art projects and other social occasions. Some of these activities will need to be accessed online.

Hospices also offer rehabilitation programmes to keep up your strength and keep you as mobile and independent as possible. They can organise help with bathing and other personal care.

The hospice home care teams have a telephone service to deal with medical emergencies that occur overnight or at weekends.

Diane says:

"I felt a huge sense of relief to be referred, because I knew that I would be able to access the most amazing support and resources.

Hospices are all about helping people to live their best life.

When most people think of hospice care they think of a building where people are admitted for end of life carebut this is only a part of the specialist care they provide.

Most of the work they do is about promoting life and living at home. They do this through treating any distressing symptoms, listening to difficulties and finding solutions. Hospices give advice and support to services that can support you at home and provide specialist care to meet your needs

Hospice staff can be there for you at the end of the phone on bad days.

Most in-patient admissions are to relieve complex symptoms that can be hard to manage at home because they need continuing assessment and adjusting treatments as necessary. When this is achieved, the patients go back home. The aim is to stabilise peoples conditions so that they can live  the best life possible in their own home.

I know that when I need more support the local hospice will be a sanctuary for me whether their help is given through community services or as an inpatient"

Diane is a former palliative care nurse specialist, she uses services at her local hospice to help with her ovarian cancer.

What can I expect from palliative care at home?

If you want to receive your care at home, let your GP and medical team know.

The community palliative care team will be able to visit you at home. This specialist care will be given by consultants trained in palliative medicine, specialist nurses plus occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

Your palliative team will be made up of different health professionals who will co- ordinate your care alongside your GP and community nursing team.

Your local authority social services can provide a range of services, equipment and home adaptations that will help you to retain your independence and remain at home.

Finding more support

Did you find this page helpful?

We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions, please email r.grigg@ovacome.org.uk or call 0207 299 6653.