Discuss Hospice Care Early

The Ithaca Journal included an article by Bob Riter, the Associate Director of the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, who writes about when the topic of hospice care should be discussed with advanced stage cancer patients.

It is a difficult topic to discuss and that contributes to the fact that many people receive hospice care only during their final few days rather than their final few months. That's too bad because hospice is much more about living than it is about dying. When I'm ready for hospice, I want to be there long enough to enjoy the entire vacation, not just the final landing.

My advice to people is to contact their local hospice before they need it. I compare it to high school sophomores and juniors beginning to explore colleges. Visiting a college campus does not commit a person to attend that college or even to apply there. It just makes one familiar with the options that are available when the time is right.

Another advantage of contacting hospice early is having the opportunity to discuss those difficult end-of-life issues in the best possible setting. It's so much better to have these discussions before there's a crisis. Social workers and other hospice staff members can gently ask the right questions so that the patient's wishes are clear and heard by everyone. Again, this sets nothing in stone but it does provide a framework for making decisions when they have to be made at some point in the future.