Guides for families
Hospice care by condition
Hospice is not tied to one diagnosis. What matters is how the illness is affecting the person: more time in bed, more hospital trips, less eating, symptoms that are harder to control. Many people think hospice is only for cancer. It is not. The guides below explain, illness by illness, the changes families often notice, how a hospice team helps, and the questions people ask most.
Medically reviewed by Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director, September 24, 2026
On this page (3 sections)
In this section
Dementia
Can someone with dementia get hospice? Signs that it may be time to ask, how hospice helps with swallowing, agitation and infections, and family questions.
Read moreHeart failure
Can someone with heart failure get hospice? Signs that it may be time to ask, how hospice eases breathlessness and swelling at home, and family questions.
Read moreCOPD and lung disease
Can someone with COPD or pulmonary fibrosis get hospice? Signs that it may be time to ask, and how hospice eases breathlessness and panic.
Read moreCancer
Can someone with cancer get hospice? Signs that it may be time to ask the oncologist, how hospice manages pain and nausea at home, and what families ask.
Read moreKidney failure
Can someone with kidney failure get hospice? How the decision to stop or not start dialysis works, how hospice manages symptoms, and what families ask.
Read moreStroke
Can someone get hospice after a stroke? Signs that it may be time to ask, how hospice helps with swallowing, comfort and coming home, and family questions.
Read moreALS
Can someone with ALS get hospice? Signs that it may be time to ask, how hospice helps with breathing, swallowing and speech, and the ventilator choices.
Read moreParkinson's disease
Can someone with Parkinson's disease get hospice? Signs the late stage has come, what hospice does for stiffness, swallowing, falls and confusion.
Read moreLiver disease
Can someone with cirrhosis or liver failure get hospice? Signs it may be time to ask, how hospice manages confusion, fluid and pain, and questions.
Read moreWhy the illness matters less than how the person is doing
Two people with the same diagnosis can be in very different places. One may still be working in the garden. Another may be sleeping most of the day and losing weight. Doctors look at the whole picture: how much help the person needs, how often they are in the hospital, how they are eating, and what the person wants from their care.
Many people also live with more than one illness, such as heart failure with kidney disease, or dementia after a stroke. The hospice team looks at all of it together. If the illness you are facing is not listed here, that does not mean hospice cannot help. Ask a question and a nurse can talk it through.
Where to go next
For general signs that apply to any illness, read is it time for hospice?. For costs, read paying for care. If you are a clinician, the criteria doctors use are in our eligibility guides for professionals.
About this page
- Written by
- Beta Hospice care team
- Medically reviewed by
- Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director
- Last reviewed
- September 24, 2026
- Next review
- March 24, 2027
How we write and review this site
Sources
- Medicare.gov: Hospice care coverage (opens in a new tab)
- National Institute on Aging: What are palliative care and hospice care? (opens in a new tab)
These sources support the general information on this page. For one person鈥檚 care and coverage, talk with the hospice team.
You do not have to decide alone.
Call (877) 258-7129 any time, or leave your number and someone from Beta's hospice team will call you. No decision is needed to call. Most families start with a question.
Only a hospice doctor, together with the person鈥檚 own doctor, can confirm hospice eligibility. A website cannot.
- A nurse answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- You can stop hospice at any time
- You have the right to choose your hospice