I became involved in Hospice care eighteen years ago when my mother, at the age of 57 was offered hospice. She had lung cancer and had failed her chemotherapy and radiation therapy. I was in my last year of nursing school and had never heard of hospice.

Hospice is a Medicare benefit and is an excellent resource for people who are nearing the end of their lives. Not just for cancer but also for end stage COPD, dementia, heart and many other medical problems.

The focus of hospice is different from medical care. Hospice focus is on quality of life. Hospice is designed to relieve pain and other symptoms-not on curing or treating the underlying disease.

When my mom was on hospice the team educated our family on preparing for approaching death. The nurse and social worker taught me what to expect and how to respond in a way that helped my mom in her transition from this existence into the next dimension of life. The Hospice team was part of my support. They helped me with the emotional-spiritual-mental and physical signs and symptoms of impending death.

My mom's death was a journey that we were able to go through with her pain and symptoms managed and intact dignity.

This is why I have been a hospice nurse for fifteen years.