Inspiring Hope

WINSHIP MAGAZINE: What exactly is palliative care?

Kimberly A. Curseen: Palliative care is a type of care delivered by an interprofessional team, and it provides an extra layer of support. It doesn’t replace any of your doctors or other members of your care team, but it helps manage the symptoms of the illness that you’re currently experiencing, whether those symptoms are physical, emotional, spiritual or social. I say we kind of round out that care, and we support you as well as your medical team to help everyone achieve the goals of care. Also, as a person is living with their illness and difficult choices arise, we help them with making those choices—supporting them and helping them clarify what they're hoping for. Then we really work hard to help them achieve that. If you think of your health care as a brick building, we are the mortar that holds everything together. For some people, we are front and center, managing most of their care. And for others, we just come whenever you need us. It’s that patient-centered, flexible care. In palliative care, our patient is not just the patient, but we see them holistically, and that also includes their family.

WM: Why did you choose to work at Winship?

KC: One of the things I really love about Winship is that their mission is very patient-centered. I sort of fell in love with Winship because they really manifest the mission that they set. They are who they say they are. Winship is also very open to palliative care, very welcoming, and understands that it’s an important part of a patient’s experience. Winship created an environment that makes it easy to practice and easy for a program that started out with maybe 80 patients to now serve over 1,500 patients and complete 3,000 patient visits a year. Without the support of Winship, the supportive care clinic would not have flourished.

WM: What have you learned from working in palliative medicine?

KC: It’s a real privilege to watch people who are going through things that are so incredibly hard, like you can’t even conceive of it, and watch them be graceful, watch them still rise to their best selves and watch them be brave. It just reminds you how strong the human spirit is, how awesome and wonderful human beings can be. So, I think I’ve gained a real love of humanity doing this job.

Kimberly A. Curseen is director of the Palliative Medicine Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and director of Supportive and Palliative Care Outpatient Services for Emory Healthcare. She is also associate professor in the Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, at Emory University School of Medicine.