"But They Are Dying." Hospice physicians like me can't usually offer patients the care they need. - Slate

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Tom was dying, and managing his condition at home was increasingly difficult. He had metastatic cancer, and was starting to become more confused and agitated. He was falling frequently, and his pain was excruciating, despite escalating around-the-clock pain medications, which were becoming harder to swallow and were not being properly absorbed by his body. He no longer had the strength to even toilet himself.

His wife Sue was in survival mode. A few sleepless nights turned into weeks without rest, during which she was constantly trying to manage Tom’s symptoms and take care of his basic needs. It was impossible for her to think beyond the current second of time.

I’m a hospice physician, and it’s at junctures like this that I can offer a life vest that completely changes the end-of-life experience. Tom was under routine hospice care, which means he was provided medications, medical equipment, and intermittent support from a professional nurse. Under routine care, families have to pick up significant caregiving duties; for Sue it was becoming too difficult because Tom was having severe pain along with mental agitation. I told Sue that I thought Tom should transfer to our inpatient hospice facility. “You have done everything possible for Tom at home, it’s too much to ask of you or anybody,” I said. “He needs a higher level of care.”

I knew this was the right decision. It’s the kind of care I pray to receive myself at the end of my own life.

It took some convincing to get Sue to say yes. Getting a devoted spouse to agree to move their dying partner out of the home isn’t always easy. But a few days after Tom arrived at the inpatient hospice facility, Sue cried tears of appreciation describing the daily baths the caretakers there gave him. With around-the-clock intravenous medications for pain and anxiety he now appeared comfortable.

https://slate.com/technology/2025/04/death-hospice-benefits-cost-insurance.html

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