Palliative care is attending to the physical,
emotional, and spiritual suffering of patients and families who
are dealing with a serious illness. Palliative care is available
at any stage of an illness.
Hospice is a type of
palliative care that is provided during the last six months of
life. Hospice is also distinct from end-of-life care, which is
the care of patients in the last days and hours of their lives.
In the US, hospice is overwhelmingly provided in a patient's
home or in a nursing home.
Studies show that for
patients with, for example metastatic lung cancer, if they
received palliative care with their cancer treatment, as opposed
to receiving cancer treatment alone, the patients actually lived
longer and had better quality-of-life scores.
When we think of
disease as a battle to fight, we tend to divide people into
winners and losers, which does not benefit them. It is better to
frame it as you may be a fighter, but your body cannot fight
this anymore. The distinction is between the person not being a
loser and the natural limits of their body.