Dispelling Hospice Myths: Hospice is Only for Cancer Patients

One common hospice myth is that hospice is only for cancer patients who forgo curative treatments. While it is true that many cancer patients benefit from hospice services, they are not the only ones reaping the benefits of hospice care.

When faced with a serious illness or disease, hospice can serve as the expert care team to manage pain and symptoms associated with other common end-stage diagnoses such as:

• ALS
• Lung Disease
• Heart Disease
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Liver Disease
• HIV
• Stroke
• Kidney Disease

The goal of hospice is to provide care and comfort when curative treatments are no longer an option, or for those who choose not to seek curative treatments because the side effects outweigh the benefits.

5 Benefits of Hospice Care

You may think that entering hospice means the end of someone’s life. That is not always the case. Sometimes, patients improve in health after undergoing such close care and a break from the pain. Here are some benefits you can expect:

• Relief from Pain: Keeping a patient comfortable and managing their pain to ensure they have the highest quality of life for as long as they live is a key goal of hospice care. Hospice will assess for physical and emotional pain and utilize palliative treatments and medications as needed.
• Symptom Management: Hospice provides medical care to ease symptoms and maximize comfort, such as the shortness of breath a patient may experience with lung disease or heart disease. The hospice team can help manage the discomfort and provide relief so the patient can focus on the people and things that matter most.
• Assist with Memory Care: In the final days of a patient with dementia or Alzheimer’s, a hospice team may show them love and care, monitor them for safety, prepare them for visitors, and offer a listening ear to the patient.
• Family and Caregiver Support: The hospice team not only focuses on the patient, but also aims to support their loved ones through education, hands-on training, assistance with advance care planning, respite care and grief support.
• Peace of Mind: Hospice care provides compassionate end-of-life care in accordance with the patient’s own wishes, enabling loved ones to preserve the patient’s dignity and enhance their quality of life.

As you learn more about hospice and its common myths, you will realize what a gift the comfort, resources and support it provides can truly be for patients and their loved ones. Unfortunately, many families choose hospice much later in the process and wish they would have enrolled in the services earlier.

From the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness to providing bereavement support for loved ones, we are ready to be a part of your hospice journey. Please contact our Bonita Springs Healthcare Services team to learn how we can customize our care to meet your needs.