Hospice in cancer

Hospice is a group that provides care at the home of a person that has an advanced illness with a likely prognosis of less than 6 months. As most treatments for cancer involve significant unpleasant side effects, a patient with little realistic hope of a cure or prolonged life may choose to seek comfort care only, forgoing more radical therapies in exchange for a prolonged period of normal living. This is an especially important aspect of care for those patients whose disease is not a good candidate for other forms of treatment. In these patients, the risks related to the chemotherapy may actually be higher than the chance of responding to the treatment, making further attempts to cure the disease impossible. Of note, patients on hospice can sometimes still get treatments such as radiation therapy if it is being used to treat symptoms, not as an attempt to cure the cancer.