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About Hospice
Hospice is available to people living with an end-stage disease including cancer, pulmonary disease, ALS, heart disease, HIV-AIDS, dementia, Alzheimer's, and any other life-threatening illness.
When cure is no longer a real possibility, hospice focuses on and treats the person, not the disease. A primary goal of hospice is to control pain and other symptoms so the patient can remain as alert and comfortable as possible.
Programs are available for adults, children and infants
Hospice includes all of the services needed to manage an individual's medical care and provides emotional and spiritual support for the patient and family. Hospice stresses quality of life and is an alternative to extended medical or curative treatments. Many people actually live longer under hospice because their symptoms are managed and treated based on their unique needs and preferences.
Hospice programs differ in size, scope of care and organization
Programs may range from volunteer hospices that rely heavily on professional and lay volunteers to organizations that provide comprehensive palliative and support services through professional employees, with support from lay volunteers.
Hospice may be the right choice when:
- The treatments for a disease are not working or are debilitating in their own right.
- ER visits or hospitalizations become more frequent and result in no real improvement.
- The business of daily living, with all the necessary chores and tasks becomes increasingly difficult, with no hope for getting any better.
- There is a progressive, unintentional weight loss of more than 10% of the body weight over the past 6 months
- Recurrent or intractable infections are present.
If you are living with some of the above difficulties, and you are ready to stop curative care in favor of palliative/comfort care, then talk to your physician or call a local hospice program.
