when is hospice needed, is it only at the end

I think Hospice would be a great idea to help get your husbands pain under control. It doesnt have to be forever, you can quit if you dont need them anymore. Pain is one thing that drains you emotionally and mentally. Hopefully someone checking on him everyday will be able to get a better handle on dealing with his pain.

Kris

My understanding is that hospice can be started once you shift from attempts to rid the cancer to palliative care, i.e. quality vs. quantity. My Mom was just put on home hospice almost 2 weeks ago. (She’s not close to the end, but after a resection and chemo last year, they discovered in June that her cancer returned, many tumors all over her liver. One round of Gemzar did nothing. So we moved on to palliative measures.) The nurse told us there are just two rules: Mom can’t fall and get hurt, and she cannot be in pain. Meaning they’ll give her whatever she needs to combat her pain. Her only pain now is pre-existing back and knee issues, but we still give her oxycodone whenever she needs it, and she tolerates it well, as well as Ativan for anxiety.

Seems to me that, whether he’s on hospice or not, your husband should NOT be having such horrible pain. Can his oncologist or GP be contacted about the pain? My Mom had various doctors involved with her care before going on hospice, for other issues such as the knee problems, reflux, high BP, etc. Now that she’s on hospice, what a relief to have all her care centrally managed.

My heart goes out to you, this must be hard. I’m new to all this, but perhaps a call to a hospice in your area would be worth it, explain what’s going on with his pain. I am so sorry, and will keep him (and you) in my prayers.