What to expect from hospice?
Hi,
I am new to the dying scene. Never tried dying before. I done a lot of shit in my life, both figuratively and literally. I am 56 years old now with kidney cancer. The tumors are winning and no chemo drugs are effective in treating the disease. So off to Hospice me and my tumors go to die. Sure like DU and all its manifestations of political banter. Some good reading! Tried to make friends here, not much luck with that.
So any information about the process, procedures, what to expect? Thanks for helping me out. Will post again. Not dead yet Repubs, (would be a great user name).
= new reply since forum marked as read
I volunteered for Hospice for awhile, and my mom was in their gentle care while she died.
It's a fabulous organization that, at least here in Savannah, had the patient's care and comfort as their primary concern. You will be in good hands; anything you want, need, etc., just ask them. If it's within their power to help, they do.
And hugs to you. 
They gave him a more comfortable ending than I or any one else could have. To me they were saints no doubt about it. Caring, giving. What ever David wanted he got. He passed into the next world at peace.
I wish I had gotten to know you sooner & know my prayers are with you.
Peace be with you my friend.
Bill
I live in New Mexico so in case you are local
and want local friends I am here. Otherwise
please feel free to stay in touch online. Or from
the afterlife, if you get there before I do, and
if they have some sort of wifi. Which I'm sure
they ought to, by now. Lots of geeks and
geniuses have passed through that door.
Sorry that you didn't make many friends here. Truth be told, I was more successful at creating a few relationship when DU was new but not so much lately. I used to work at a hospice so I know that the staff, especially the nurses, are very skilled and dedicated to their patients. My only advice would be to get whatever medication you need to relieve the pain. I wish you a peaceful passage.
My late mother was under the care of hospice (she had lung cancer).
They came to the place she was staying at the last few months she was alive as necessary, at least once or twice a day.
They helped her out a lot best I could tell and made arrangements for things she needed.
She was given any/all pain medication she needed (she told me she felt "too doped up" toward the end).
She passed away without incident. I was glad that hospice was there for her and I don't know what I would have done without their help.
I hope that you do not suffer and that things are not upsetting for you in any way at all.
I hope that what friends/family you may have will take time to visit you often as I found that helped my late mother quite a bit.
Again, very sorry to read about your condition. 
In the meantime, here is a for you.
for metastatic breast cancer. my only regret is that we didn't do it sooner because the hospice staff took much better care of her than the skilled nursing staff. they did a great of job of managing her pain, and she died peacefully. i am so sorry about your situation, and i wish you the best. i know it cannot be easy for you, but you have an amazing outlook.
I have nothing helpful to say. I will help keep vigil, if you will have me.
Staffed by angels. It to me is the kindest and gentlest and most comforting way to say farewell.
As for the dying scene - we here will all face that scene eventually, sooner or later. It is great you reached out - you will see how many friends you now have!
nearly 20 years, on the financial side. My personal experience, as well as my professional experience have been equally rewarding. Our clinical staff and volunteers are real life angels. Not only will you have access to excellent physican care & pain management, but you can take advantage of the many counselling services provided by Hospice. They're all trained professionals, and never shrink away from declaring what YOU need. At this point, it's all about YOU.
And remember, not every prognosis is a death sentence. We've had patients leave our services after being certified & recertified in 6 month increments. There are other patients who have been in our care for years, although they still meet the hospice criteria, they are enjoying a relatively good quality of life. There are still others who were given a 6 month prognosis, they got better, they revoked our services, went off and lived their lives for years, and returned to us at the end.
All that being said, I am so sorry to hear this, and I hope you'll reach out to this board whenever you find yourself in need of support.
On the admin side. The clinicians are the most caring people I have ever met. My advice: meet with the chaplain, even if you are not religious. They are trained to meet you where you are spiritually (or not) and they are great listeners.
I wish you a peaceful pain free journey. Hospice is how it should be for us all.
Since you say you're new to the dying scene, I suggest a few books:
Weiss, Brian Many Lives, Many Masters
Alexander, Eben Proof of Heaven
Long, Jeffrey Evidence of the Afterlife
All three of the above are medical physicians. More and more doctors are trying to get the word out about this.
Below is Long's web site, which has thousands of reports of people's experiences of almost crossing over.
http://www.nderf.org/
Cher
p.s. on edit, forgot to add that there's also a book out with the experiences of hospice workers regarding this phenomenon. I can't recall the name, though.
My mother spent her last days in hospice last year, and they're angels.
As long as you feel like it, please stick around.
in hospice for the last 6 weeks of his life. The hospice staff were wonderful and the facility, that the Social Worker from the palliative home care team chose for him, was as close to our home environment as one could get. Walking for him was very difficult so she picked his room as the one closest to the outdoor patio given he loved to enjoy the fresh air and have his fag, 10 steps and he was there. The outdoor furniture, flowers and shrubbery were almost identical to what we have at home in the front where he always relaxed and soaked in the rays. His room at the hospice was more like a tiny apartment.
His biggest fear before going in was that it would be like being in the hospital. He had had too many hospital stays in his lasts months and he hated all of them. Some hospitals had been better than others but those distinctions are in degree not in kind. Gone was the clinical and sterile atmosphere of the hospital, gone were the horrible hospital "meals" he could once again enjoy home cooking! The staff attention was constant and he was no longer having to wait for pain meds.
The entire focus of hospice care is for patient comfort. Address the pain as well as offer any emotional/spiritual support as patients need or want. There are no visiting hours, visiting is 24/7. They brought us a cot into his room for our last three weeks (as we requested) so we stayed there with him non stop. We rearranged his room a bit, no problem, whatever made him happy. We brought in personal items of his to decorate his room and his favourite comforter which made him squeal in glee like a small child 
The doctors, the staff, everyone was absolutely wonderful.
My heart and my love go out to you mate. I hope this helps you and you will be in my thoughts always
I'm so sorry for what's happened. 
Only a question of when. It's the knowing that must be bad.
Have you thought about assisted suicide? It's available here in Washington and Oregon. Forgive me for asking if this offends your beliefs, just wanted you to know there is an alternative to hospice.
sending you vibes of peace and tranquility
This January 10th will be six years since our 18 year old daughter left us. She had been battling brain cancer for nearly three years. She put up an amazing fight but finally said she needed to let go. I am still thinking of the peace and satisfaction she had. In a eulogy I noted how she had this wonderful wisdom about what was going down. I kept asking how one so young achieved such a state. It was beautiful. We brought her home from the hospital on December 24th in the evening, that's where she wished to be. The hospice folks were so good at what they did. I think now of the enormous sense of empathy they all exuded. Her last days at home were great, that's the memory We keep. Peace to you my friend. 
Last edited Sat Nov 2, 2013, 11:58 PM - Edit history (1)
The two hospice nurses we had for my sister, who died from melanoma, were very kind, knowledgeable and supportive.
Don't hesitate to ask for whatever will make you comfortable in the moment. I'm hoping you will have family and close friends nearby for support. Best wishes, and Peace.