Whereas palliative care can begin at any point during cancer treatment, hospice care begins when curative treatment is no longer the goal of care and the sole focus is quality of life.
Palliative care can help patients and their loved ones make the transition from treatment meant to cure or control the disease to hospice care by:
preparing them for physical changes that may occur near the end of life
helping them cope with the different thoughts and emotional issues that arise
providing support for family members and caregivers