Contact:

Maria Patino

832.410.3193

www.katyhospices.com

May 23,2016

 

How a family handles cancer depends a lot on how the family has dealt with problems in the past. Those who are used to communicating openly and sharing feelings are usually able to talk about how cancer is affecting them. Families who solve their problems as individuals instead of a team might have more trouble coping with cancer.

Cancer treatment includes care for the patient and the family, not just the cancer. A mental health professional may already be a part of the cancer care team. If not, talk with the doctor or nurse to learn about other resources that can help you and your family cope with cancer.

People with cancer often say that lack of communication in their families is a problem. Changes in responsibilities can cause resentment and anxiety. Some family members may not feel comfortable openly discussing their feelings. Other family members may avoid the person with cancer because they feel as if they have nothing to offer, don’t know how to act, or feel they can’t do anything to help make the situation better. These factors can all make families more distant at a time when they need to pull together. Many families need help with this. Through family counseling, members can learn to deal with changes within the family and discuss their feelings more comfortably.

 

Contact: Maria Patino

832.410.3193

katyhospices.com

Hospice and palliative care nurses work in collaboration with other health providers (such as physicians, social workers, or chaplains) within the context of an interdisciplinary team.  Composed of highly qualified, specially trained professionals and volunteers, the team blends their strengths together to anticipate and meet the needs of the patient and family facing terminal illness and bereavement.

Hospice and palliative nurses distinguish themselves from their colleagues in other nursing specialty practices by their unwavering focus on end-of-life care. Hospice and palliative care includes 24-hour nursing availability, management of pain and other symptoms, and family support. By providing expert management of pain and other symptoms combined with compassionate listening and counseling skills, hospice and palliative nurse promote the highest quality of life for the patient and family.

Regardless of the setting, hospice and palliative nurses strive to achieve an understanding of specific end-of-life issues from the perspective of each patient and his or her family.  To accomplish this, nurses collaborate in a cultural assessment of the patient and family and provide culturally sensitive care.

Hospice and palliative nursing is not only practiced at the bedside. Nurses, consistent with their individual educational preparation, experience and roles, promote the highest standards of end-of-lie care through community and professional education, participation in demonstration grants, and in end-of-life research. As society’s needs change and awareness of the issues surrounding the end of life increases, nurses are called to advocate for the terminally ill and their families through public policy forums, including the legislative process. 

Contact:
Maria Patino
832.410.3193
katyhospices.com

Misconception
Hospice makes death come sooner.
Reality

Hospice neither hastens nor postpones dying. The aim is to improve the quality of remaining life so patients can enjoy time with family and friends and experience a natural, pain-free death. In some cases, hospice care can extend life.

Misconception
Hospice is giving up hope; it’s better to fight for life.

Reality
Most terminally ill patients experience less anxiety by refocusing hope on what might be realistically achieved in the time remaining. If continuing uncomfortable and painful curative treatment for an illness is fruitless, hospice patients benefit more from having their symptoms treated instead.
A hospice patient who shows signs of recovery can’t return to regular medical treatment.

Misconception
If a patient’s condition improves, they can be discharged from hospice and return to curative treatment, or resume their daily lives. If need be, they can later return to hospice care.

Reality
A hospice patient can’t change his or her mind and return to curative treatment even if their prognosis hasn’t changed.

Misconception
A patient can go on and off hospice care as needed—or if they change their mind and decide to return to curative treatment. They may also enter hospital for certain types of treatment if it involves improving their quality of life.
Hospice care is limited to a maximum of six months.

Reality
In the U.S., many insurance companies, as well as the Medicare Hospice Benefit, require that a terminally ill patient has a prognosis of six months or less to start hospice, but a terminally-ill patient can receive hospice care for as long as necessary.