“The fight for our lives shouldn't result in the loss of the lives we want to lead.”
- Sunita Puri, MD Palliative and Supportive Care

Hospice and Palliative Care can work very well in tandem, but they provide very different services. Palliative care can come into play immediately after a serious diagnosis, improving quality of life and not precluding treatment options. If the decision is made to stop treatment and enter hospice, palliative care will continue to support quality of life for the dying person and their family. When 'fighting' an illness is no longer relevant a conscious letting go can begin. Ideally, hospice provides the team that teaches and aids the family and loved ones to plan, care and comfort the person, either at home, in a hospital or a facility, until their death. Palliative Care is an innovative movement within the medical field that seeks to alleviate suffering and address the needs of the whole person in the context of their life not just their disease. Modern medicine often still sees death as a failure and is disabled by it; palliative and hospice care hold the promise of a different approach - one that can support both life and death.