The nurse visits as often as necessary,
assessing the patients' needs
and helping provide sufficient
information to the caregiver
to assure safe, palliative
care. More frequent visits
occur as needed.

Since our goal is to allow the end
of life to take its natural course, no active,
curative therapies are undertaken. In most cases a cancer patient would no longer continue to undergo chemotherapy unless its objective was symptom control. Hospice care neither hastens nor postpones death. However, pain and other symptoms are rigorously treated to assure the patient is as comfortable as possible, that his or her personality is not duller or altered by drugs, social isolation or the environment.

The other members of the interdisciplinary team, the social worker, the chaplain, the hospice aide, the volunteer, the homemaker and the bereavement coordinator all help with the continued assessment of the patient to assure he or she has the best care available.