How can nurses support patients choosing to continue life-prolonging treatments while ensuring comfort?

• A. Abandon comfort measures to pursue curative treatment
• B. Integrate palliative care, manage symptoms effectively, set realistic goals, and maintain open communication
• C. Withhold information about prognosis
• D. Schedule limited medical appointments

Answer: (B)

The idea is to provide comfort while continuing life-prolonging treatment by integrating palliative care into the patient’s overall plan. Palliative care focuses on relieving distressing symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and fatigue, which helps maintain comfort even as disease-directed therapies proceed. It also supports clear conversations about goals, prognosis, and what outcomes matter most to the patient, enabling realistic expectations and informed decisions. Open communication ensures patients understand options, participate in planning, and avoid unwanted aggressive interventions, aligning care with their values. This combined approach—symptom management, honest goal-setting, and ongoing dialogue—best supports patients who choose to continue life-prolonging treatments while ensuring comfort. Abandoning comfort measures would defeat the purpose of relief, withholding prognosis information hinders informed choices, and scheduling limited appointments risks fragmented care and unmet needs.