What is palliative care?
Palliative care focuses on providing physical, emotional and social support to people with an incurable or life-limiting illness and extends this care to families, friends and carers. There are a wide-range of chronic life-limiting conditions which may require palliative care, including advanced cancer.
Who is palliative care for?
Patients at any stage with pain or other concerning symptoms, from diagnosis through advanced illness
Survivors adjusting to life after treatment
Families and caregivers who need extra support
Patients and family members seeking comfort and peace in their final stage of life
Our services
At Icon, we believe in a holistic approach to care. Beyond treating cancer, we manage symptoms and support the emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of both patients and their families. Alongside pain and symptom control, our palliative care team provides counselling, caregiver support, and more.
At every step of the way, we listen and respond to what matters to our patients most, ensuring that care is shaped by every individual’s needs, and preferences. It is this personalised care that strengthens resilience and enhances the daily life of our patients’ treatment journey.
After a consultation with your doctor, your personalised palliative care plan may include:
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Living with cancer often involves severe pain and ongoing side-effects from medications and treatments. Our palliative care team works closely with patients to carefully assess and create an individualised treatment plan. This may include:
Medications to help control and relieve symptoms and discomfort
Non-medication supportive therapies to alleviate pain
Further advanced treatments, such as radiation therapy or systemic therapy aimed for palliation
Referral to a surgeon. Surgery may reduce tumour size which affects pain and ongoing symptoms
Referral to allied health and other pain management services
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Palliative care goes beyond managing pain. Many patients face additional challenges like fatigue, breathlessness, nausea, constipation, loss of appetite, and sleep difficulties. Our symptom management approach addresses this full spectrum, helping patients feel more at ease and enhancing their overall quality of life. Through a holistic, interdisciplinary model, we combine medical expertise with psychological support and lifestyle guidance — ensuring every dimension of wellbeing is thoughtfully cared for.
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We understand that coping with advanced cancer can be a distressing time for patients and their loved ones. We will help connect patients and their families to appropriate support services such as psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapist, and specialised grief support services to help them navigate emotional challenges and find strength throughout their journey.
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Serious illness often brings difficult conversations about treatment choices and care goals. Our team provides guidance and support to help patients and families communicate openly by facilitating family meetings, ensuring that everyone feels heard and supported as active partners in care decisions.
We could also assist in Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives plan which includes planning for your future health and personal care based on your personal beliefs, values and healthcare preferences.
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Losing a loved one is one of life’s most difficult experiences. We provide specialised services to support families through the grieving process, offering compassionate counselling and resources to help them cope and heal.
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Our palliative care team helps patients find meaningful ways to preserve memories and share their stories whether through art therapy, journaling or creating memory boxes.
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Our home care service brings specialised palliative support directly to patients, offering comfort, dignity, and peace of mind in familiar surroundings. Designed for patients and caregivers, our care is tailored to meet both medical and psychosocial needs.
Our services include:
Home monitoring for pain and symptom control to ensure timely relief and comfort
Caregiver training, empowering families with practical skills and confidence
Administering intravenous or subcutaneous medications safely at home
End-of-life and home hospice care, providing compassionate support through the final stages of life
Our palliative and hospice care doctor
Dr. Venita Eng is a palliative and hospice care physician with ten years of dedicated experience in helping patients and caregivers optimise their quality of life through a holistic approach by preventing and addressing their physical, psychosocial and spiritual concerns.
“My mission is to walk alongside patients and their family with compassion, helping them live each day with peace, meaning, and dignity. Through holistic palliative care, I seek to bring comfort, connection, and strength—an extra layer of support when it matters most.”
Palliative treatments for advanced cancer
There are many different treatments that play a role in palliative care for people with cancer. The type of treatment you receive will depend on you and your cancer, and may include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and surgery.
Radiotherapy – Uses highly-targeted radiation to destroy cancer cells, reduce the growth or spread of cancer and relieve symptoms. This can help improve your quality of life by controlling symptoms associated with your cancer and reducing your pain levels
Drug therapies, such as chemotherapy and targeted therapy – Involves the use of anti-cancer drugs to stop further spread of the cancer throughout your body
Surgery – May be performed to remove tumours and relieve pain and discomfort.
Support for you and your family
There are many exceptional services available for you and your family to help you learn more about palliative and end-of-life care and access support during this difficult time. We encourage you to speak with your care team about which options might suit you and your loved ones.
FAQs
Caring for you at Icon
At Icon, we are committed to supporting you and your family throughout every step of your cancer journey. Whether you are an existing patient with us or are considering beginning treatment at an Icon Oncology centre, our dedicated team work hand-in-hand with palliative care specialists to provide you with the care you need, when you need it most.
Please speak with your doctor or a member of our compassionate staff to find out how Icon can support you to access comprehensive palliative and end-of-life care.
