Hospice Care for Cancer Patients
Hospice is a type of care in which cancer patients and their loved ones receive medical, psychological, and spiritual support when therapies no longer control the disease. With hospice care, a team of health care professionals collaborates with patients and families to provide the comfort and care they require as a cancer patient approaches the end of their lives.
Palliative care is not the same as hospice care. Although both hospice and palliative care offer patients comfort and support, palliative care is available throughout a patient’s cancer journey. While receiving palliative care, a person’s cancer treatment continues, but hospice care focuses on just relieving symptoms and providing support at the end of life.
Hospice care focuses on caring rather than curing. Hospice care’s goal is to help you live each day to the fullest by controlling pain and other symptoms and making you as comfortable as possible. It is not meant to hasten or postpone death.
Choosing hospice care does not imply that you have lost hope. Instead, hospice care entails altering your expectations. This could be a wish for a good quality of life in the remaining years, such as more time with loved ones and friends.
Hospice care can be provided in a variety of settings. Hospice care is typically provided at the patient’s home, but it can also be provided in specialized inpatient facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes. If necessary, it can also take place in conjunction with professional home care and chemotherapy.
Hospice Program Services – The Oasis Health Advantage
- Medical and nursing care
- Short-term inpatient care medical supplies and equipment drugs for managing cancer-related symptoms and pain
- Volunteers are needed to give caregivers a break.
- Spiritual care and counseling
- Services for social work
- Counseling and support for bereavement
Hospice professionals and volunteers have received specialized training. They are dedicated to meeting the emotional needs of patients and their families, and they are trained to deal with medical symptoms.
Selecting a Hospice – Family Matters
If you decide to use hospice care, contact us as soon as possible. Choosing us will be determined by the services available in your area. It will also be determined by which one appeals to you the most. Speak with family members and friends who have used our hospice services before. Inquire with your medical team about whom they would recommend and it would be us.
Hospice care is a type of care that is used when there is no hope of a cure or when people are in their final months of life. Your health care team will use it to provide palliative care, also known as supportive care, to help prevent or relieve cancer symptoms. It also aids in the treatment of side effects. This care is available at any time during your cancer treatment. This includes receiving treatment for a cure. Hospice care prevents and relieves symptoms, allowing you to live the rest of your life to the fullest.
How Hospice Can Help
Research shows that cancer patients and their families who use hospice services report a higher quality of life than those who don’t. An interdisciplinary team of professionals brings hospice to the patient. The team looks at advanced-stage cancer from the point of view of both the patient and the patient’s caregiver and other loved ones. The team consists of a physician, nurse, hospice aide, social worker, chaplain, volunteer and bereavement specialist.
Nearly 40 percent of those who seek hospice services in the United States are people facing advanced stages of cancer. Cancer patients receiving hospice care can take comfort knowing they are not alone on this journey and that every member of the hospice team is cared in guiding people through the most challenging stage of the disease and their lives.
Patient’s specific health issues, as well as what they do and do not want in the healthcare they receive, are taken into consideration when providing cancer patients with care. As your symptoms and condition change, your status will be evaluated on a regular basis, and your plan of care will be continuously updated to meet your needs as your symptoms and condition change, even on a daily basis.
Is hospice care a guarantee that I will live life a certain amount of time?
No, not always. This concept is derived from Medicare, the U.S. government organization that covers a large portion of the health-care costs for older Americans. If your doctor believes you have 6 months or less to live, your cancer does not respond to treatment, and your medical condition does not improve, Medicare will pay for hospice care.
However, no one knows for certain how long you will live. If you receive hospice care and live for more than six months, you can continue to receive hospice care as long as you meet the Medicare requirements.
The information below explains how Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance pay for hospice care.
Who is eligible for hospice care?
If you or a loved one meets the following criteria, you or your loved one may be eligible for hospice care in a hospice program:
- You have reached the end of your life.
- When cancer disease treatment isn’t working or isn’t likely to work.
- It is the point at which you and your doctor stop attempting to cure cancer for a loved family member
If your medical condition continues to worsen, the doctor believes you will die within the next six months.
Benefits of Hospice Care
Patients with cancer who are on hospice or palliative care benefit from an increased level of support for themselves and their caregivers, which is one of the most significant advantages of hospice. In order to provide medical and personal care, nurses and aides visit their place of residence. In addition, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, and bereavement specialists assist with the planning and emotional support of the funeral.
When symptoms worsen in an emergency situation, additional care is often provided instead of another late-night ambulance ride to the emergency room.
Is Hospice Care Insurance Covered?
Yes, although healthcare can be quite costly. Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, and the majority of private insurance companies cover hospice care in the area.
For more financial information, please call 773.941.4838 and ask for the Oncology Hospice Program at OASIS HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE. Our knowledgeable staff will answer your questions and provide you with the information you require to get connected with care through email as well.
