Palliative Care & Rehabilitation Medicine
Photo Courtesy of Cathy Greenblat
About Us
The Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine focuses on improving the quality of life for M. D. Anderson Cancer Patients and their families.
Following a cancer diagnosis and treatment, it is normal for patients to experience burdensome physical symptoms and/or psychological distress from their disease and/or the cancer treatment itself. Sometimes these physical and psychological symptoms require specialized care in conjunction to your primary oncology treatment for disease. This is where a specialized multidisciplinary team in the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine may benefit you and your family throughout your fight against cancer.
Defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and families who face life-threatening illness, by providing pain and symptom relief, spiritual and psychosocial support from diagnosis throughout the course of illness.
Supportive Care Center
The Support Care Center focuses on improving quality of life for M.D. Anderson Cancer Patients and their families. Upon referral, patients of the Supportive Care Center receive care from one of the three speciality medical groups in the following clinics:
- Supportive Care Clinic (symptom management and palliative care)
- Cachexia Clinic (sub-speciality of Supportive Care)
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic
- Integrative Medicine Clinic
For additional information on our clinical components please see the Supportive Care Center.
In addition to our outpatient clinic, all M. D. Anderson Patients and their primary service have access to a palliative care professional through our Mobile Consultation Team. Through this inpatient consultation service, a specialized professional in palliative and supportive care can provide a Supportive Care Consultation to any patient, regardless of their primary service, upon referral.
For those patients who require advanced 24-hour supportive care, The Andreas Beck Palliative Care Unit is a 12-bed specialized inpatient acute facility focusing on stabilizing and improving quality of life for the most complex patients at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or need additional information about any of the content, please contact Marcel Bartolazzi by e-mail at mbartola@mdanderson.org.
Visiting Physicians and Short-Term Observers
We accept short-term observers and visiting physicians looking to build or grow a palliative care program in their community.
Read more about our Visiting Physician and Observer Program.