When To Choose Hospice

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness. Now what?

Finding out that you have a serious illness can be overwhelming. You may experience a range of feelings that includes anger, fear, frustration, sadness, depression, confusion, guilt and hopelessness. Being diagnosed with a serious illness can trigger the grief cycle, which includes being angry about the news, denying that the diagnosis is real, a desire to bargain—often with God—about the news, becoming depressed about the news and ultimately accepting the fact that you are ill.

It’s important to understand as much about your condition as possible. Share your concerns with your doctor and be sure to ask questions about your condition so that you understand your symptoms and how to cope with them, and so that you have a better understanding of what is taking place inside your body because of your illness. It is sometimes helpful to seek a second opinion from another healthcare provider.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about possible treatments for your illness. Ask him or her specifically about your prognosis—what the course of the illness will look like, what outcomes are possible, whether the illness is curable, etc. Asking the following questions can help you better understand your illness and how to proceed from here.

Are there treatments available?

What do those treatments involve?

What side effects are you likely to experience as a result of treatments?

Are these treatments directed at curing your illness?

Is there a cure for your illness?

If there is no cure, is your illness considered life-limiting?

If your illness is life-limiting, what is your prognosis?

If treatments are available for your illness, talk further with your doctor about the ones that are best suited for your individual scenario. If your illness is not treatable and you are interested in doing so, talk with your doctor about the possibility of participating in an approved clinical trial.

If it is determined that your illness is not curable and that no effective treatments are available (or if the side effects of available treatments outweigh the possible benefits), it may be time to consider comfort care instead of curative approaches. If your doctor estimates that your illness will run its normal course and result in your death in six months or less, you may be eligible to receive hospice care.

Why should I consider hospice care?

Hospice care is a philosophy of care—as well as a kind of care—provided to patients living with a terminal illness. It serves to meet not only the physical or medical needs of the patient, but also the psychological, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient. The goal of hospice care is to provide pain management and symptom control to patients with life-limiting illnesses so that they are comfortable and can live their remaining days with dignity and with an increased ability to focus on the things that matter most to them, such as spending time with family, traveling and making new memories with loved ones.

If you are living with a terminal illness, hospice care can provide the following benefits to you:

-Pain control and management of symptoms

-Enhanced quality of life

-Support in making decisions about end-of-life care

-The ability to be involved in choices about your care

-Support in alleviating psychological, social and spiritual distress

-Increased opportunities to come to terms with your illness in healthy ways

-Preservation of your dignity in the final stages of life

-Avoidance of unnecessary and stressful visits to the ER and hospital

-24/7 availability of hospice nurses via phone (and in person when necessary) to answer questions and address concerns

-The availability of spiritual advisors and counseling

A type of care provided to patients with terminal illnesses that focuses on pain and symptom control. It also encompasses care that supports the patient’s psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Hospice care includes interventions to control your pain and manage your symptoms, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy when needed. It also includes the provision of medications and medical equipment necessary in managing and treating issues related to your terminal diagnosis. Hospice care further includes interventions to meet your psychological, social and emotional needs. Spiritual guidance and counseling are also included. 

Once a referral is made to a hospice agency, a hospice representative will contact you or your caregiver to schedule a time for a hospice nurse to meet with you so that he or she can conduct an evaluation to determine your eligibility to receive hospice services. If you are deemed eligible, the hospice care team will—with your involvement—begin to create an individualized plan of care for you. The plan of care will detail services you will receive, as well as the frequency of visits from members of the care team.

The plan of care serves as the guide map for navigating your care and meeting your needs. It will be updated as your needs change. You will receive visits from members of the hospice care team who will serve to meet your needs, whether physical, psychological, social, emotional or spiritual. In between visits, you and your caregivers are encouraged to call the hospice agency with any questions or concerns, as professionals are available 24 hours a day to assist you by phone and in person as needed for emergencies or urgent concerns.

Hospice care can afford many benefits to your family. If you elect to receive hospice services, your family can benefit from things like spiritual and emotional support, help in understanding your disease process, in-home help from trained volunteers, peace of mind knowing that a team of healthcare professionals is overseeing and participating in your care, help with understanding the dying process, respite care, bereavement care and grief counseling, among others.

If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and your doctor estimates that your life expectancy is six months or less—assuming your illness takes its normal course—you are a candidate for hospice care. Anyone can make a referral to a hospice agency, including you, a family member, a friend, your minister or your doctor. Once that referral is made, a hospice representative will contact you to schedule a visit with a hospice nurse who will determine your eligibility and begin to create a plan of care and schedule of services for you.

Once your doctor has estimated that your life expectancy is six months or less, it is time to begin hospice care so that you and your family can receive the most benefits possible from hospice services. If you don’t elect to begin hospice care immediately, other things can signal the need to begin care, including unintentional weight loss and loss of appetite, repeated visits to the ER, changes in the functioning of your kidneys, chronic dehydration, an increase in sleep and a general decline in your condition. Beginning care as soon as you need it affords you greater opportunities to experience all the benefits hospice has to offer.