Get HOSPICE RENEWAL SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION

Hospice care focuses on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life. At some point, it may not be possible to cure a serious illness, or a patient may choose not to undergo certain treatments.

Hospice care can be started when a person's cancer can no longer be controlled and they are expected to live no more than 6 months. Hospice can help make a person's quality of life the best possible during their last few months, weeks, or days.

Palliative care focuses on easing pain and discomfort, reducing stress, and helping people have the highest quality of life possible. Hospice care focuses on quality of life when a cure is no longer possible, or the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits.

Hospice will not tell you what to do. You tell hospice what your care goals are and what you want. If you do not want certain medications, they will not be forced on you. The hospice care team will work with you to honor your wishes in every aspect of your care.

ing to the National Institutes of Health, about 90% of patients die within the six-month timeframe after entering hospice. If a patient has been in hospice for six months but a doctor believes they are unlikely to live another six months, they may renew their stay in hospice.

Hospice care can be started when a person's cancer can no longer be controlled and they are expected to live no more than 6 months. Hospice can help make a person's quality of life the best possible during their last few months, weeks, or days.

Hospice will not tell you what to do. You tell hospice what your care goals are and what you want. If you do not want certain medications, they will not be forced on you. The hospice care team will work with you to honor your wishes in every aspect of your care.

FACT: More than 50% of hospice patients nationwide have a diagnosis other than cancer. Increasingly, hospices are also serving families coping with the end-stages of chronic diseases like emphysema, COPD, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases. MYTH: Hospice is only for dying people.