Hospice & palliative care

Palliative Care During Active Treatment: Yes, You Can Have Both

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Yes. You can receive palliative care while still having treatment to fight your illness — chemotherapy, dialysis, surgery, or anything else. Palliative care is based on your needs, not your prognosis, so it runs alongside your regular treatment. One team treats the disease; the palliative team eases symptoms and keeps you comfortable and supported throughout [4][5].

Last updated: July 2026

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Can you really have both at once?

If you are worried that asking for palliative care means giving up your treatment, you can set that worry down. Many people worry about this — palliative care is often confused with hospice. The honest answer is yes — you can have both 4.

Palliative care is comfort care based on your needs, not on how long you may live 5. So there is no rule that treatment must stop. You can keep having chemotherapy, dialysis, radiation, or surgery and get palliative care at the same time. Think of two lanes side by side: one lane treats the disease, the other keeps you strong and comfortable enough to keep going.

What does palliative care add during treatment?

Treatment can be hard on the body. Palliative care helps you handle it 4:

  • Eases pain, nausea, and breathlessness
  • Helps with poor appetite, fatigue, and sleep
  • Supports your mood, worry, and stress
  • Helps your family cope and plan
  • Helps you sort out hard decisions when they come

By keeping symptoms in check, this support can make it easier to stay on your treatment plan. If you are still sorting out what palliative care even is, start with what palliative care is in plain language.

What does the evidence show?

The research is encouraging. In one study of people with advanced lung cancer, those who got palliative care early — while still in treatment — had a better quality of life and mood, and in that trial they lived a bit longer 16.

When a Medicare program let people receive comfort-focused support and their usual treatment together 19, people were admitted to the hospital less often and used the emergency room less 20. Comfort care did not compete with treatment. It helped.

Isn't this the same as hospice?

No — and this is the key point. Hospice usually asks you to set treatment aside and focus fully on comfort 33. Palliative care does not.

Hospice is the Medicare benefit for people whose doctors expect they may have six months or less. They choose to focus fully on comfort 33. Palliative care has no such rule. You can start it at any stage, while you keep treating the illness.

You can see how hospice care works and how it is paid for. For a side-by-side look, see palliative care versus hospice. And if the word "palliative" still makes you think of giving up, read does palliative care mean giving up.

How do age, other illnesses, and cost fit in?

People of any age can have palliative care during treatment. If you have more than one illness — say heart failure and diabetes along with cancer — that is a strong reason to add it. The team helps manage many symptoms and medicines at once 5.

Many people worry about the cost. Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans cover palliative care visits, much like other specialist visits 33. Ask your plan about copays.

Questions to bring to your visit

Bring these to your oncologist or treating doctor. Start with the symptom that is hardest right now.

  • Can we add palliative care while I keep my current treatment?
  • Which symptom could this help with first?
  • Who will be on the team, and how do they talk to my other doctors?
  • Will this affect my treatment schedule or my coverage?
  • If I need to pause treatment, does the palliative support continue?

Common questions

No. You can receive palliative care while continuing chemotherapy or any other treatment 4. Palliative care is based on your needs, not on stopping treatment.

Hospice usually asks you to set aside treatments aimed at curing the illness and focus on comfort 33. Palliative care lets you keep that treatment while adding comfort support. See our palliative-versus-hospice guide for details.

No. The palliative team works alongside your treating doctors and coordinates with them 5. By easing side effects, it can actually help you stay on your treatment plan.

You can ask at any point, including right after a diagnosis. Research suggests earlier is often better for quality of life 16. If symptoms or stress are wearing you down, that's a good time to raise it.

Related

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Two or three sentences, just as you’d say it. Gale reflects back what you focused on — a mirror, not a quiz.

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When to reach out sooner

  • —A fever while on chemotherapy — this can be an emergency, call your team right away
  • —Side effects your team has not been able to control
  • —New pain, breathlessness, or nausea that frightens you
  • —Feeling unable to cope with treatment or the illness

For a severe or fast-changing symptom during treatment, contact your care team promptly or seek urgent care. If you feel unable to go on or have thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 anytime. Call 911 for immediate danger.

This article is general education about palliative care during treatment, not a diagnosis or medical advice. To add palliative care to your plan, talk with your treating clinician or a Gale primary care clinician.

References

  1. 4.Center to Advance Palliative Care (2026). What is Palliative Care? (Definition of Palliative Care). GetPalliativeCare.org. link ✓Consumer definition of palliative care: specialized care for serious illness based on need not prognosis, appropriate at any age and any stage, and deliverable alongside curative treatment.
  2. 5.Center to Advance Palliative Care (2026). About Palliative Care. CAPC. link ✓Professional-facing definition of palliative care as interdisciplinary team care for serious illness that improves quality of life for patient and family and is not prognosis-dependent.
  3. 16.Temel JS, et al. (2010). Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. PMID 20818875 ✓Single-center RCT: early palliative care improved quality of life and mood, reduced aggressive end-of-life care, and was associated with longer median survival (11.6 vs 8.9 months); the quality-of-life effects are widely replicated, the survival effect less consistent.
  4. 19.CMS Innovation Center (2026). Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM). CMS. link ✓Official model page: MCCM let eligible beneficiaries receive hospice-like supportive care concurrently with conventional treatment.
  5. 20.Kranker K, et al. (2023). Medicare Care Choices Model Improved End-Of-Life Care, Lowered Medicare Expenditures, And Increased Hospice Use. Health Affairs. PMID 37931188 ✓MCCM evaluation: concurrent supportive care cut net Medicare spending 13%, reduced inpatient admissions 26% and ED visits 12%, increased hospice use by 18 percentage points, and reduced aggressive end-of-life treatment by 15 points.
  6. 33.National Institute on Aging (2026). What Are Palliative Care and Hospice Care?. National Institute on Aging (NIH). link ✓Authoritative plain-language explanation of the palliative-vs-hospice distinction, who can receive each, care settings, hospice eligibility (a life expectancy of about six months or less with a focus on comfort), and Medicare/insurance coverage of both.

6 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice. AI-assisted editorial content — every citation independently verified. Editorial policy

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