Hospice

Hospice care is most often associated with the care of terminally ill cancer patients in the final days. However, the scope of hospice is much broader and extends beyond cancer patients. Hospice means receiving services that focus on comfort while continuing to receive medical care when terminally ill. The difference once hospice begins is that the medical care changes from aggressive disease fighting to treatments that lessen pain and enhance comfort, that is, palliative care for those who understand that death is imminent. Hospice means that the focus has turned from fighting for a cure to providing comfort, dignity, and pain reduction in sync with the needs and desires of the patient. The goal is to help the dying to live each day to the ...