My husband is ill and not getting anymore treatment, but how do I know when the time is right to call hospice?
Hospice is a program for people who have any end-stage disease (not just cancer) with a prognosis of six months or less to live. Hospice patients are no longer seeking aggressive or curative treatment for their disease process. Sadly, we care for many patients and families who have chosen hospice with only hours, days or weeks left to live. Most often, we regret that we did not have more time to help these people with pain and symptom control and the many other services that we offer. However, we realize that deciding “when the time is right” is a very individual decision that each patient and family must make along with their physician. Just keep in mind, we care for many patients who are active and living each day to the fullest, not just patients who are imminently dying.
