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Hospice Care for Mesothelioma Patients
Table Of Contents
Mesothelioma hospice care focuses on making patients more comfortable with palliative or supportive care and addressing their emotional and spiritual needs. Patients are eligible for hospice when they no longer respond to medical treatment.
Written by Amy Pelegrin | Edited by Amy Edel | Last Update: September 5, 2025
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When to Consider Hospice Care
Patients and their families may consider hospice care once doctors assess the patient likely has 6 months to live. Hospice is a type of health care that aims to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for people with terminal conditions.
Hospice offers levels of service that range from basic care provided at home to complete care provided at inpatient medical facilities. While these services aren’t intended to improve a mesothelioma prognosis, some patients outlive their initial prognosis thanks to the high-quality care that hospice provides.
The typical life expectancy for mesothelioma is about 1 year. Many families facing mesothelioma come to rely on hospice care to access excellent health care and supportive services. As a patient, choosing this type of care doesn’t mean you’re giving up.
As a caregiver, it doesn’t mean you’re abandoning a loved one. Hospice is about providing comfort and preserving quality of life.
Hospice Care Options for Mesothelioma Patients
Hospice care for people with mesothelioma cancer may include assistance to improve breathing, pain control and diet plans. Hospice professionals also offer services that extend beyond the physical, incorporating emotional, social and spiritual support when requested.
People with pleural mesothelioma can benefit from breathing techniques and specific positioning techniques that can help a patient position themselves to optimize airflow. A compromised digestive system is a primary concern for people with peritoneal mesothelioma. Hospice teams can create customized nutrition plans to ensure patients are nourished and hydrated.
Hospice Care Team Professionals
- Bereavement specialists
- Chaplain, clergy members or spiritual leaders
- Doctors
- Home health aides
- Medical specialists
- Mental health counselors
- Nurses
- Occupational or physical therapists
- Social workers
Additional medications can be given to help reduce late-stage mesothelioma pain. Because of its ability to reduce breathing stress for people with lung diseases like mesothelioma, morphine is commonly prescribed to pleural mesothelioma patients. Hospice can also offer alternative painkillers to reduce related discomfort.
Hospice professionals can also help with end-of-life arrangements, such as wills and advance directives. Nondenominational spiritual counsel and support groups for patients who wish to participate are also offered. These programs continue to offer support groups, counseling and bereavement services to the family for an extended period of time after their loved one dies.
4 Levels of Hospice Care for Mesothelioma Patients
The 4 levels of hospice care are tailored to meet the unique needs of mesothelioma patients and their families. Each level provides increasing levels of comfort and support.
- Routine home care: The most common level, hospice teams provide support to manage cancer pain and symptoms at the mesothelioma patient’s residence.
- Continuous care: This level provides around-the-clock home nursing services in a crisis to address acute symptoms and stabilize the patient’s condition.
- Inpatient respite care: This care offers short-term inpatient care at a facility with professional care and support to provide temporary relief to family caregivers.
- General inpatient care: If symptom management becomes challenging at home, families may consider inpatient 24-hour skilled nursing care to control severe symptoms and improve comfort.
Every level of hospice care aims to deliver holistic and compassionate care. Mesothelioma patients may experience some or all these levels at different stages of their hospice journey. Hospice provides a team of healthcare professionals, including nurses, aides and social workers, at each level of care.
Choosing a Hospice Program for Mesothelioma
Discuss the level of hospice care that would work best for you and your family with your doctor. Depending on your location, you may have multiple choices for where to receive hospice care.
You can ask your doctor for a referral and a hospice representative is often on staff at hospitals and cancer centers to answer questions. Hospitals and treatment centers also have local hospice contacts for patients and family members to reach out to about end-of-life care.
With more than 4,700 hospice programs in the U.S., many of which Medicare has certified, choosing a facility can feel overwhelming. Speaking with a Patient Advocate or using sites such as Hospice Compare can help.
Be sure to ask about the facility’s experience specifically with the complex aspects of caring for someone with mesothelioma. Once you’ve officially decided to proceed with hospice care, your oncologist can approve the paperwork confirming your eligibility for this type of care.
Support for Mesothelioma Caregivers
Hospice can relieve some caregiving stress while ensuring patients receive optimal end-of-life care. In addition to routine or continuous at-home or inpatient care that offers specialized mesothelioma care, respite care also benefits caregivers, giving them a true break from the challenges of caregiving.
In addition to physical care, hospice workers can help with other end-of-life services. These services help caregivers ensure their loved one’s wishes are respected and plans are in place for the future. Bereavement services also support caregivers through the grieving process.
End-of-Life Hospice Services
- Choosing a loved one to serve as a health care proxy
- Completing paperwork for advance directives, including the patient’s medical wishes and do-not-resuscitate orders
- Designating power of attorney, delegating financial decision making to a loved one or someone else the patient trusts
- Developing a will for distribution of the patient’s estate as they wish
- Making decisions about arranging burial and funeral services
It may be difficult for some caregivers to suggest hospice to their loved one with mesothelioma. Some doctors will suggest hospice to the patients themselves when their clinical symptoms and progress indicate that it would be the most beneficial mode of care.
Paying for Hospice Care
Medicare Part A covers the vast majority of people who enter hospice care. The Medicare Hospice Benefit covers care related to the terminal illness but doesn’t cover all aspects of care.
For example, patients can expect copays for prescriptions and can expect to pay a portion of fees related to respite care. Any type of complementary care a patient elects on their own that the hospice care team doesn’t recommend won’t be eligible for Medicare coverage.
Statistics about hospice care show that Medicare paid $23.1 billion for hospice care services in 2021. Mesothelioma patients are eligible for financial aid, such as medical grants and Social Security Disability, to help cover the costs of health care not covered by hospice.
Quick Fact
There were 1.71 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in hospice care for one day or more in 2021, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Hospice Care Resources
These resources can help your family find hospice care in your community. Learning about hospice and your options can ease concerns for families during difficult times.
This foundation provides information about hospice services, grief support and educational materials. They also offer a message board where people can discuss hospice topics.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
This group offers detailed information about hospice care and can assist families in locating and selecting a hospice provider.
National Association for Home Care and Hospice
This association works to promote, protect and advocate for high-quality health care for terminally ill patients. It also educates hospice workers and lobbies for patients’ rights.
The U.S. Administration on Aging provides this public service that helps families find services for older adults, including hospice care.
Stories from Mesothelioma Survivors Entering Hospice
Many mesothelioma survivors have found hospice care helpful and recommend it to others facing the same diagnosis. Some entered hospice care but left soon after because their cancer stopped progressing.
Virginia Beach
Virginia was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2005 and went through 8 rounds of chemo, which put her cancer into remission for nearly 10 years. In 2014, she started having shortness of breath, and her doctor suggested hospice care.
A hospice nurse and social worker began visiting her regularly. Her primary care doctor and hospice chaplain also visited. Then her health suddenly improved and she was able to leave hospice.
“After a while, the doctor told me my lungs were clear. I didn’t need them to do much, but the nurse did help me understand my iPad, and how to use it better,” Virginia tells us. “That was a big help to me.”
Rich DeLisle
Rich was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2012 and had aggressive surgery and other treatments that put his cancer in remission for years. When the cancer returned in 2017, he tried several treatments but eventually chose hospice care.
“My body is gone. I was tired of being sick,” Rich shared with us. “I couldn’t take any more of those treatments. We’ve cried together enough. It was just time for something else.”
Rich and his wife told family and friends about their decision and invited them to spend time together. He recounted, “We didn’t invite anyone here to sit around and mope over me. I have to get ready for the party tonight.”
Randy Sloan
Randy was diagnosed with late-stage pleural mesothelioma in 2016. He went through chemo and radiation, but the side effects were very difficult. His health quickly worsened within 6 weeks of diagnosis. He chose hospice care at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco because he had a personal connection to the former director.
“I knew he needed much more care than we could provide him and much more care than he wanted a family member to give him,” his mother, Melany Baldwin, told us. “Going to a place like he did, he felt unburdened, and it was unburdening for everyone.”
Zen Hospice also arranged for Randy’s dying wishes to be honored. The day before he passed away, they organized a sailing trip across San Francisco Bay with his friends and family.
“He was himself until the end,” Melany shared. “And that was how he wanted it. He had the best possible medical care, and the best possible dying care. At the end, he opted for a shorter, better life.”
