Ideally, hospice care should begin as soon as the focus of treatment changes from curing the disease to alleviating the symptoms and providing palliative (comfort) care.  The decision to request hospice care is a personal one, but most of our families tell us they wish they had made the decision to turn to hospice for help earlier. A patient, family member, doctor or other health care professional can ask for hospice care. In order to be admitted to hospice care a physician must certify a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease continues its normal course.

Hospice care should be considered if any of the following conditions apply:

• Treatment will no longer cure the disease.
• Activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing and walking have become difficult.
• Symptoms are increasingly uncomfortable or difficult to manage.
• Pain is not well controlled.

With hospice care, individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness have the chance to complete their lives with dignity, in comfort and at peace.  Hospice patients have the rare opportunity to communicate all the special things to those they care about, while passing on their personal history and legacy to the next generation.

Hospice care also allows friends and families the unique opportunity to show how much they have valued their loved one's life, to reminisce and remember special shared moments.