Hospice Care for Cancer
For end-stage cancer patients, hospice can provide care for the patient and family to manage symptoms, provide support and ensure the patient’s care goals are honored.
How do I know if I'm ready for in-home hospice support for my cancer?
Our hospice physician, in collaboration with the patient’s attending physician, will determine if a patient is eligible for hospice at home based on a prognosis of six months or less if their disease runs its normal course.
Some signs that a cancer patient may be ready for hospice are:
- Non-responsive to chemotherapy/radiation
- Fatigued with regular daily activities
- Progressive unintentional weight loss
- Intractable pain
- Loss of quality of life
- Disinterest in the outside world
- Evidence of end-stage disease and/or metastasis
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., and it’s characterized by the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells that can spread throughout the body. There are more than 100 types of cancer that the body can develop.
- Unresponsive to chemotherapy
- Unresponsive to radiation
- Cachexia (a complex metabolic syndrome that causes involuntary weight loss and muscle wasting)
- Neutropenia (an abnormally low count of neutrophils, which are of a type of white blood cell)
- Uncontrolled pain
- Metastasis (The spread of cancer cells from the place where they first formed to another part of the body)
- Fractures with metastasis to the bone
Goals of hospice care for cancer
Each patient’s plan of care is tailored to meet their unique care needs. In general, home hospice care is about more:
- Quality of life
- Focus on personal goals
- Normal activities
- Physical and emotional support for the patient and family
- Symptom and pain management
- Resources, supplies and equipment
- Counseling and respite services
Hospice Services for Cancer Patients
Elara Caring offers comprehensive hospice services that include nursing care, aide assistance, social work services, spiritual care and other support.
Hospice nurses, for example, assess and help manage a patient’s pain and symptoms. They are trained caregivers who provide hands-on patient care and comfort the family while also teaching them how to take the best care of their loved one.
Aides are certified nursing assistants who provide personal care, such as bathing, dressing or mouth care. They ease the burden on family caregivers by assisting with activities like light housekeeping.
Social workers provide emotional and psychosocial support to the patient and family. They coordinate the logistics of the patient’s care and help with financial concerns, funeral planning or connection to other community resources.
Other members of the hospice team include physicians, spiritual care coordinators, volunteers and bereavement coordinators (who provide bereavement services to families for 13 months).
Get in touch with Elara Caring
Contact your local Elara Caring branch for more information on hospice and how we can help you focus on the things that matter most to you.
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