Palliative Care in Spanish

What it means

Palliative care is treatment of the discomfort, symptoms, and stress of serious illness. It provides relief from distressing symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, and problems with sleep, and it can also help a person deal with the side effects of medical treatments. The National Cancer Institute describes it as care given to improve the quality of life of people who have a serious or life-threatening disease, and says it also attends to the psychological, social, and spiritual problems caused by the disease or its treatment. Hospice care, which is care at the end of life, always includes palliative care, but a person may receive palliative care at any stage of an illness, and it may be given with other treatments.

Spanish term: Cuidados paliativos
Gender and article: masculine: los cuidados paliativos
Pronunciation: kwee-DAH-dohs pah-lyah-TEE-bohs

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
atención paliativa	General	The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary says cuidados paliativos is also called atención paliativa.
asistencia paliativa	General	The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary says cuidados paliativos is also called asistencia paliativa.

Cuidados paliativos is a masculine plural phrase: los cuidados paliativos. The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary uses it in its definition of this care, and MedlinePlus en español uses the same plural in its text, although that page is titled in the singular, Cuidado paliativo. The NCI entry says the same care is also called asistencia paliativa and atención paliativa; the Real Academia Española dictionary lists the adjective with both endings, paliativo, va.

That dictionary defines paliativo as said especially of a treatment or remedy meant to ease a sick person's pain. For hospice, MedlinePlus en español writes cuidados de hospicio and explains that this end-of-life care always includes cuidados paliativos. Words that appear next to the term on these pages include calidad de vida (quality of life), enfermedad grave (serious illness) and efectos secundarios (side effects).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	I would like to refer you to the palliative care team.	Quisiera remitirle al equipo de cuidados paliativos.
Patient	Does palliative care mean I have to stop my other treatments?	¿Los cuidados paliativos significan que tengo que dejar mis otros tratamientos?
Clinician	No. You can receive palliative care along with your other treatments.	No. Puede recibir cuidados paliativos junto con sus otros tratamientos.
Patient	Is palliative care the same as hospice care?	¿Los cuidados paliativos son lo mismo que los cuidados de hospicio?
Clinician	Which symptoms bother you the most right now?	¿Qué síntomas le molestan más en este momento?
Patient	The pain and the nausea do not let me sleep.	El dolor y las náuseas no me dejan dormir.
Patient	I would like my family to be at the next visit.	Me gustaría que mi familia estuviera en la próxima consulta.
Patient	Who do I call if the pain gets worse at night?	¿A quién llamo si el dolor empeora por la noche?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Palliative Care
Spanish (Español)	Cuidados paliativos
Chinese (中文)	緩和照護
Korean (한국어)	완화 치료
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Chăm sóc giảm nhẹ
Filipino (Tagalog)	Palliative care
Portuguese (Português)	Cuidados paliativos
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	การดูแลแบบประคับประคอง
Japanese (日本語)	緩和ケア

Where you'll see it

chartEOBbillreferraldischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: General care: tests, procedures and medicines

All terms in this area: General care: tests, procedures and medicines — Atención general: pruebas, procedimientos y medicamentos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.