Home

Services & Personnel

• About Hospice
• FAQ
• Cost of Services
• Social Work
• Medical/Nursing
• Hospice Aides
• Spiritual Care
• Bereavement
• Stepping Stones
• Volunteers
• Board of Directors
• Community Outreach
• Contact Us

News & Information

• News Archive
• Lending Library
• Privacy Documents
• Regional Hospice Groups
• Links

Getting Involved

• Charitable Giving
• Be a Volunteer
• Thrift Store
• Make a Referral
• Career Opportunities

Study: Hospice prolongs life for some

It's been 381 days since Toby Lopes came home to die.

Toby is not the typical hospice patient, but his story is an important one. It rings of hope and it shows how hospice care can make a significant impact on quality of life.

Toby's story also clearly illustrates an important finding released in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: Hospice care prolongs the life of some patients.

The study analyzed the survival of 4,493 patients from a sample of the entire Medicare beneficiary population between 1998 and 2002 with six narrowly defined indicative markers.

The mean survival time for all six groups was 29 days longer for hospice patients than for nonhospice patients. For hospice patients with congestive heart failure, the mean survival rate jumped to 81 days longer than for nonhospice patients. For those with lung cancer, it was 39 days; colon cancer, 33 days; and pancreatic cancer, 21 days longer.

While the number of additional days of life may seem small, this extra time can be significant to patients and their families. Many use this time to resolve family issues and seek closure.

During Toby's reclaimed days – now into a second year – he bought his very first brand-new bicycle. Most mornings, Woodlanders up early could catch a glimpse of him peddling to the Nugget Market for coffee and a chat with his buddies. It wasn't safe for him to drive anymore, explains Yolo Hospice nurse Kathleen Hendrix, “but the bike gives him independence.”

He and his wife, May, also spent more time at their cabin in the woods near Redding where Toby loves to fish and hunt.

Why do some hospice patients live longer than their nonhospice peers with the same diagnosis and prognosis? Three reasons are sited in this study.

First, aggressive curative treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, which hospice patients have elected to forgo or to discontinue, carry with them increased risks of death. 

It was the radiation treatments that nearly took Toby's life. “I think that if he had stayed in the hospital getting radiation and then the chemo he wouldn't be here today,” May says.

Secondly, entering hospice often increases the amount of medical monitoring and thus improves the treatment patients receive.

“You guys sure know medications,” says Toby shaking his head. May explains that the pain relief regimen the hospice nurse manages for Toby has kept him relatively pain-free but also clear-headed. That's important to both May and Toby.

And third, other studies suggest that patients with strong psychosocial and spiritual support – a hallmark of hospice care – tend to survive longer than those without.

Hospice treats the patient, not the disease. “We didn’t cure him,” Kathleen says. “We helped him to have more time and a better quality of life.”

Today Toby is busy making plans. After all, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren need to learn how to take care of the Redding cabin they will inherit. He needs to show them how to clear the brush, trim the trees and get the cabin ready for winter. He needs to fix the Jeep before hunting season. All these tasks are best taken care of during summer. A summer Toby never expected to see.

“Hospice is a good road to take,” Toby says. He gazes out to the tomatoes he planted this spring and muses, “I think I’m going to live another year.”

PHOTO: Toby Lopes shows off the bike he rides now that he’s no longer able to drive. After coming home in March 2006 to die, Lopes surprised everyone with his survival. “I think I’m going to live another year,” he said earlier this month.

Make A Donation

• Download Donation Form (pdf)
• Main Donation Page

Make Your Wishes Known

• About Advance Directives
• Get Acrobat Reader

Quotes