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Anyone know a hospice message board


Budd

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My husband will be going into a hospice bridgeing program.

I really do believe in the hsopice program, but only somewhat. After reading another thread on the board, they are confirming my reluctance to do straight hospice.

I also remember way back someone mentioned that they would not give their parent the morphine. I can't remember why but that's always stuck in my mind.

I am very conflicted about a lot of their ways and that's why I'd like to find a message board to understand more before our hospice meeting.

Debbie

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Debbie,

I'm sorry you are going through this and I know that making these kinds of decisions can be very difficult but there comes a time in life when these decisions must be made.

I don't know what threads you've been reading, but all the one's *I'VE* seen on this board concerning hospice were about as positive as you can get.

I am on hospice care and would not have it any other way. They have been wonderful, careing people who are concerned with two things only ... the comfort and dignity of the patient.

Here's a link to a web site called "Crossing the Creek" written by hospice folks for the family and caregivers of terminally ill people. If you read through it you can begin to get an idea of the philosophy of hospice care as well as an understanding of what a terminally ill patient may be going through.

http://crossingthecreek.com/main_index.htm

I hope and pray that whatever the future hold for you and your husband that you are given the strength to see it through and to make the right choices.

Dean

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Debbie:

I can only echo Deans sentiments and comments. I had hospice care or my guy for about 2 months before he passed away and they were lifesavers! My only thought about their reluctance to administer morphine is that the drugs are actually prescribed by your physician. All hospice does is fill the prescription on the doctors ok. Our main issue was that the doctor and pharmacy were so far away ( we had the VA Hospital and it was a 70mile round trip with endless lines), and once the doctor knew we had hospice, it was a piece of cake. They contact the doctor directly, fill the prescription (or RECOMMEND upgrading the drugs) and deliver them.

The have R.N.'s on staff, but they can't prescribe. That may have been the issue.

One thing you can do for yourself is to interview the hospice you'd like to use. Ask a lot of questions about their area of responsibiliy with specific regard to drug administration and control. I found them to be very open and aboveboard and willing to do whatever it took to ensure the comfort and care of the patient. And very supportive of the caregiver too, as well as being available 24/7, which the doctors are not!

I hope this helps, and you're both in my prayers. Keep us posted o your progress. I think you'll find, as most of us have, that hospice is a Godsend.

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Thank you both for answering. It is my decision to stop chemo and start hospice because Chris can't make the decision himself now.

I was looking for a message board to know what questions to ask. I want to make sure I ask everything that I should and maybe some I shouldn't.

Chris is suppose to be discharged from the hospital on Monday, hopefully, and the onc. and hospital I hope will set up a hospice meeting for us.

I also want our 21 yr. old son who is still lives with us there for it, as this is all effecting him also.

So if you can come up with any questions for me to ask, I'd sure appreciate it.

Deb

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Hi Deb,

Sorry to hear about Chris. Found some information that might be helpful. Also I’m from Medford. Peace, take care and God Bless.

Rich

http://www.hospice-america.org/guide.html (All About Hospice: A Consumer's Guide)

http://www.hospiceweb.com/faq.htm (Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice)

http://www.hospicefoundation.org

http://www.hospiceweb.com

http://www.hospice-america.org/consumer.html

http://www.hospicenet.org

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https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/ncipubs (NCI Publications Locator)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 151,00.asp (PLWC Feature: Talking to Someone With Cancer)

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/ ... 87526.html (3-year-old keeps her smile in battle with rare cancer)

http://www.rfalung.com (Radio Frequency Ablation Of Lung Cancer)

http://www.lungcancercoalition.org (Global Lung Cancer Coalition)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 008,00.asp (PLWC Feature: Financial Support Resources)

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/healt ... hqcanc.htm (Best Hospitals)

https://www.alcase.org/advocacy/sign_the_petition.html (Advocacy /Sign the Petition)

http://www.cancersymptoms.org (Oncology Nursing Society)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 008,00.asp (Questions to Ask the Doctor)

http://www.alcase.org/education/publica ... reath.html (With Every Breath A Lung Cancer Guidebook / From ALCASE / A Wealth Of Information / Free)

http://www.cancersurvivaltoolbox.org (The Cancer Survival Toolbox / Free / From NCCS)

http://www.centerwatch.com (Clinical Trails Listing Service / Center Watch)

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&editi ... ung+cancer (Lung Cancer In The News)

http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/pro ... /guide.asp (The Wellness Community / National Cancer Support, Education And Support / Free)

http://www.drugs.com (Drug Information Online)

http://www.alcase.org (ALCASE / Alliance For Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, Education)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov (Unites States / National Library Of Medicine)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html (Health Information / Medical Encyclopedia)

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http://blochcancer.org (R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, Inc. / Please read: A Letter to all newly diagnosed cancer patients)

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http://www.cancerhopenetwork.org (Cancer Hope Network)

http://www.acor.org (Association of Cancer Online Resources / Free Online Lifeline For Everyone Affected By Cancer & Related Disorders)

http://www.meds.com/lung/lunginfo.html (Lung Cancer Information Library)

http://www.lungusa.org (American Lung Association)

http://www.ama-assn.org (American Medical Association)

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.ns ... g%20Cancer (Doctor’s Guide / Lung Cancer)

http://www.healthfinder.gov/Scripts/Sea ... ?topic=506 (Healthfinder)

http://www.medicinenet.com/Lung_Cancer/article.htm (Medicine Net)

http://www.cancerindex.org/clinks2l.htm (Cancer Index / Lung Cancer Resources Directory)

http://www.nfcr.org/site/PageServer?pag ... ncers_lung (National Foundation For Cancer Research)

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http://www.cancerlinks.org/lung.html (Lung Cancer Links)

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http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/C ... ung_cancer (Health Insite)

http://www.lungcancerclaims.com (Lung Cancer / Lung Cancer Information Page)

http://www.cancerlifecenter.com/engine. ... =dictionar (Cancer Life Center/ Cancer Dictionary)

http://www.canceryellowpages.com/Resour ... G%20CANCER (Cancer yellow Pages)

http://icare.org (ICARE / The International Cancer Alliance)

http://www.vh.org/index.html (Virtual Hospital)

http://www.lungcanceronline.org/support/financial.html (Lung Cancer Online / Financial, Legal & Insurance Issues)

http://cancernews.healthology.com/focus ... cancernews (Cancer News)

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Rich

Thank you so much that is just what I was looking for.

Chris will be home tomorrow on the Bridge program. That combines the services of VNA and Hospice. He'll get his PT, OT and all that and we'll have the hospice social workers. It will be be the same nurse for when he transitions to straight hospice. So now I know what the program is and am fine with it.

We're in Groveland. I just feel we're so lucky to be where we are with all the great hospitals around. We go to the Cancer Management Center in Methuen at the Holy Family Hospital. The hospital, where Chris has been "residing" has the greatest onc. floor. And his onc. goes to Dana-Farber once a week for updates and meetings. So I think we have the best of both worlds. A hospital 20 mins away with a "Boston" doctor, if you know what I mean :)

So again thanks to everyone for all the sites. I've gone to all of them and have learned so much that now I feel very prepared for the meeting.

Debbie

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Debbie,

We used Hospice for my mother and I can't say enough great things about them and the experience we had. I truly don't know what we would have done without them. They treated my mother as if she were family. They held our hand every step of the way and kept my mother comfortable and out of pain as much as possible. I thanked God for them.

Kim

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