Quality of Life and Palliative Care

The Quality of Life for All (QoLA) team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital focuses on making each day the best it can be for every St. Jude patient and family.

Illness affects the body, mind, and spirit. Children and families facing serious illness have distress and difficulty at some point.

The QoLA team is made up of experts in pediatric palliative care. Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve suffering caused by disease symptoms, treatment side effects, and stress.

At St. Jude, we believe palliative care should be a part of medical care early in the treatment process. Many people think palliative care is only for patients at the end of life. But that is not true. Research studies have shown that palliative care supports treatments and helps patients live longer, happier lives.

Services we provide

Our services focus on the individual needs of patients and their families. The St. Jude program is one of few in the United States to provide services in several different health care settings inside and outside the hospital.

Services include:

• Meetings with health care providers to make palliative care plans and follow-up. This may occur in inpatient rooms, outpatient clinics, St. Jude housing, or when patients are at home in their communities.
• Managing pain and symptoms with medicine and other approaches
• Integrative health approaches to relieve side effects. These may include:
  • Massage
  • Acupuncture
  • Acupressure
  • Biofeedback
  • Mindfulness
  • Relaxation
  • Yoga
  • Music therapy
  • Art therapy
  • Reiki
  • Aromatherapy
• Emotional and spiritual support to help families dealing with anxiety and depression
• Matching of treatment and care choices to your family’s values, customs, and culture
• Coordination of communication with different health care professionals

If you would like a referral for Quality of Life and Palliative Care services, please ask your child’s primary oncologist.

Your QoLA team

Palliative care specialists are trained to meet patient and family needs that come with serious illness.

Your team may include:

• Palliative care doctors
• Nurses and nurse practitioners
• Social workers
• Pharmacists
• Child life specialists
• Mental health providers
• Chaplains
• Dietitians
• Rehabilitation therapists
• Art and music therapists
• Massage therapist

What to expect from the QoLA team

The palliative care team does not replace your child’s primary medical team. They are partners who provide care focused on the unique needs of each patient and family.

Contact Us

For more information about Quality of Life and Palliative Care, please e-mail QualityofLifeService@stjude.org.

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