Hospice Care of the Cancer Pain Patient

Abstract

The benefits of hospice care for the patient (pt) with cancer pain are discussed in terms of the need to recognize when care has replaced cure as the primary goal of therapy. The origins of the modern hospice movement are outlined. Pt evaluation, pain management (benefits of heroin and epidural opiates, side effects of narcotics, and choosing analgesic drugs), and the structure of the hospice staff are discussed. Hospice is not the physical place in which care occurs, but the emotion, philosophy, and concept that permits control of pain and ensures general spiritual and mental comfort for the pt. The aims of hospice are simple: to minimize suffering, to care rather than cure, and to set goals in terms of people rather than disease. (7 Refs)