Hospice and Palliative Care

Hospice and palliative care are often misunderstood and can be easily confused by patients and families. They both involve the care and comfort of people being treated for serious illness, but have more than a few differences.

Hospice Care

Hospice care involves care provided with the goal of comforting a patient rather than curing that patient. To qualify for hospice, two medical professionals must certify that a patient has a diagnosis that is considered terminal and is expected to live six months or less. Acknowledging the transition from the goal of treatment moving from cure to comfort can be difficult for patients and families. Despite the sadness involved with that shift, hospice includes many benefits that can help patients and their loved ones at such a vulnerable time.

While many people think hospice is a place people go when death is near, it is more accurately described as an extra layer of dedicated care and services, provided to patients where they live, whether that be a home, apartment, nursing home, assisted living community, or with family. Hospice services are all portable and can be administered by any of the members of the interdisciplinary hospice team (doctor, nurse, social worker, chaplain, home health aide, or arts therapist). Hospice generally “goes” to the patient rather than the patient going to hospice. The cost of hospice is 100% covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, involving no out-of-pocket expenses for the patient.

Hope & Healing Cancer Services is always ready to partner with any hospice our patients may choose, if that care becomes necessary. Dr. Srilata Gundala, founder of Hope & Healing values those things hospice can uniquely provide, “In addition to minimizing anxiety, pain, and stress, hospice services are intended to decrease the sense of chaos that can surround patients and families during what can be a difficult time.”

Palliative Care

Like hospice, palliative care is centered on relieving pain, providing comfort, and enhancing a patient’s quality of life. Unlike hospice, palliative care can be accessed by many of our cancer patients as another tool used to relieve any suffering associated with the treatment of a serious or life-limiting illness.

Palliative care is not limited to those whose disease qualifies as terminal. On the contrary, palliative care can be a useful tool for many cancer patients beginning with diagnosis, through treatment, and even after treatments have finished.

Palliative care can help patients manage challenging side effects, provide support with the mental and emotional impact of living with cancer, and empower patients to ensure their treatment plans take their unique needs and circumstances into consideration.