What type of terminal illnesses does hospice treat?

It is a common Myth that hospice is only for patients with cancer.  Even though hospice patients are certified to have a 6 month prognosis, studies have shown that life expectancy is over-estimated no matter what the terminal diagnosis. Studies also show that patients who are admitted earlier rather than later to hospice care live longer and have better quality of life than those who are admitted in the last few days or weeks of life.

Eligibility Guidelines: 

Hospice services are available across the lifespan to anyone who needs them.Hospice provides comfort care and services to patients with any terminal diagnosis, not only cancer. Hospice admits patients with both cancer and non-cancer diagnoses.

Patients with any terminal diagnosis are eligible. The most common are:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD: TYPE 1 OR TYPE 2) 

Stroke

Dementia/Alzheimer’s

END-STAGE DIABETES    

Heart Disease

HIV Disease

Huntington’s Disease

Liver Disease

Lung Disease

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscular Dystrophy

Myasthenia Gravis

Parkinson’s Disease

Renal Failure

 General Criteria for Hospice Care The patient has a prognosis of less than 6 months if the disease runs its normal course. The terminal diagnosis and prognosis is confirmed in writing by two physicians.The patient and family choose to focus on comfort, rather than curative treatments.