Myth: Hospice Means Giving Up Hope

MYTH: "I was so scared to even say 'hospice.' I thought it meant I had to give up. Give up hope. Give up trying. Give up praying for a cure."

FACT: In order to receive hospice, the patient must be eligible and have an understanding that hospice focuses on comfort care (palliative), not cure. But patients and families do not have to be "ready to die" before getting the care they need and deserve. Hospice helps patients and families deal with what is happening to them on their own terms and in their own time frame. It is important to get hospice early so that the benefit can help patients prepare and get ready for what is happening; it is not required that patients be ready prior to receiving care.