Vandana Mahajan, Palliative Care Counselor, Cancer Counselor, Patient Advocate, and Cancer Survivor, shared on LinkedIn:
”For the nth time…
A caregiver called me, overwhelmed, frightened, and carrying the weight of decisions no one had prepared them for.
Their 78-year-old loved one had cancer. She had already been through ICU admissions, surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy… and now she was on best supportive care. Her condition was declining rapidly. She was suffering.
Yet no one had introduced palliative care earlier.
For the nth time, I heard the words:
‘There is nothing more we can do. You should seek palliative care.’
And for the nth time, I heard the response:
‘But she isn’t dying yet. Why does she need palliative care?’
That question breaks my heart every single time.
Because it tells me that we, as a healthcare system, are still failing to explain what palliative care truly is.
Palliative care is:
- Not about giving up.
- Not about the last few days of life.
- It is about living as well as possible from the moment of diagnosis with a serious illness.
- It is about relieving suffering, supporting families, navigating uncertainty, and ensuring that no one walks this journey alone.
Instead, we wait.
We wait until the treatments are over.
We wait until the body is exhausted.
We wait until families are in crisis.
We wait until suffering has become unbearable.
And then we call it palliative care.
This happened in a city that has a strong palliative care network. The hospital even has a palliative care team.
So why are families still reaching us only when everything feels like it’s falling apart?
After speaking with the caregiver for 40 minutes, I connected them with a palliative care physician.
Before we ended the call, they quietly said,
‘Thank you, Vandana. I finally know what to do now. I only wish we had spoken sooner.’
I sat with those words for a long time.
‘I only wish we had spoken sooner.’
- How many people spend their final months suffering more than they need to?
- How many caregivers carry regret because they never knew help existed?
- How many opportunities to improve quality of life are lost because palliative care is still treated as the last resort instead of an essential part of cancer care?
I have stopped being surprised.
But I refuse to become indifferent.
Every conversation reminds me why this work matters.
I hope the day comes when every person diagnosed with cancer meets a palliative care team at the time of diagnosis – not because they are dying, but because they deserve to live with comfort, dignity, and support throughout their illness.
Until that day comes, I will keep answering the calls. I will keep explaining. I will keep connecting families to the care they deserve.
Because no one should have to say,
‘I wish we had spoken sooner.’
You can also read ‘2026 NNECOS Annual Meeting and Palliative Care Symposium‘
