| Hospice
care is end-of-life care provided by health professionals
and volunteers. They give medical, psychological
and spiritual support. The goal of the care is
to help people who are dying have peace, comfort
and dignity. The caregivers try to control pain
and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert
and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs
also provide services to support a patient's family.
Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live
6 months or less. Hospice care can take place
* At home
* At a hospice center
* In a hospital
* In a skilled nursing facility
Hospice, in the earliest days, was a concept
rooted in the centuries-old idea of offering a
place of shelter and rest, or "hospitality"
to weary and sick travelers on a long journey.
Today, hospice care provides humane and compassionate
care for people in the last phases of incurable
disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably
as possible.
Hospice care is suitable when you no longer benefit
from cancer treatment and you are expected to
live 6 months or less. Hospice gives you palliative
care, which is treatment to help relieve cancer-related
symptoms, but not cure the disease; its main purpose
is to improve your quality of life. You, your
family, and your doctor decide together when hospice
care should begin.
One of the problems with hospice is that it is
often not started soon enough. Sometimes the doctor,
patient, or family member will resist hospice
because he or she feels it sends a message of
no hope. This is not true. If you get better or
the disease goes into remission, you can be taken
out of the hospice program and go into active
cancer treatment.
You can go back to hospice care at a later time,
if needed. The hope that hospice brings is the
hope of a quality life, making the best of each
day during the last stages of advanced illness.
Hospice is a philosophy of care. Hospice care
can be given in the patient's home, a hospital,
nursing home, or private hospice facility. Most
hospice care in the United States is given in
the home, with a family member or members serving
as the main hands-on caregiver.
The hospice philosophy or viewpoint accepts death
as the final stage of life. The goal of hospice
is to enable patients to continue an alert, pain-free
life and to manage other symptoms so that their
last days may be spent with dignity and quality,
surrounded by their loved ones. Hospice affirms
life and does not hasten or postpone death.
Hospice care treats the person rather than the
disease; it focuses on quality rather than length
of life. It provides family-centered care and
involves the patient and the family in making
decisions. Care is provided for the patient and
family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
