The traditional approach may also be the appropriate choice, when cure is not possible. However, it is not the only choice. Hospice provides relief from pain. The physical pain arising from a terminal illness may be debilitating, frightening and dehumanizing. Hospice providers have the skills and resources to permit persons to live as pain-free, as comfortable, and as full a life as possible.
Hospice provides support.
In addition to providing for the physical comfort of the dying person, hospice provides social and spiritual support for the patient and his or her family. This support takes the form of time-off for the primary caregiver, personal care, nutritional counseling, pastoral counseling, grief counseling, and help with legal and funeral arrangements. Hospice is chosen by hundreds of thousands. In 1994 over 300,000 persons chose hospice care in the United States. This is more than twice as many as in 1985.