How to use this checklist: Check off any items that apply to your family member right now. The more items you check, the more likely it may be time to have a conversation with their doctor about hospice or palliative care. This is not a diagnostic tool — it is a starting point for conversation.
1. Physical signs to watch for
- Significant weight loss (clothes fitting much more loosely)
- Loss of appetite — eating much less than usual
- Sleeping more than half the day
- Difficulty walking, even with help
- Increasing weakness or fatigue
- Difficulty swallowing food or pills
- Skin changes — bruising, pale, or thin
- Increased need for help with bathing, dressing, or toileting
2. Medical signals
- Two or more hospital admissions in the past 6 months
- Multiple ER visits this year
- Frequent infections (UTIs, pneumonia)
- Doctor has mentioned palliative or comfort care
- Treatments are no longer working as well
- Side effects of treatment have become severe
- Multiple medications, increasing doses
- Decision fatigue around next steps
3. Emotional & behavioral signals
- Withdrawing from family and activities
- Expressing readiness to stop fighting
- Saying they want to focus on comfort
- Talking about wanting to die at home
- Increased anxiety, restlessness, or confusion
- Loss of interest in food, conversation, or hobbies
- Spiritual or existential distress
4. The 'surprise question'
- Would you be surprised if your family member died in the next 12 months?
- If your honest answer is 'no, I wouldn't be surprised' — that's a strong signal it's time for a conversation about hospice.
5. Questions for your doctor
- What is my family member's prognosis if treatment continues?
- What would happen if we shifted to comfort care?
- What symptoms can hospice manage better than what we're doing now?
- How would daily life change with hospice support?
- What does 'six months or less' mean in our specific case?
- Can we get a hospice consultation without committing to anything?
6. What to remember
- Hospice is 100% covered by Medicare. No cost to your family.
- Choosing hospice is not giving up — it is choosing comfort and quality.
- Most families say they wish they had called sooner.
- A hospice consultation is free and does not commit you to anything.
- You can be enrolled and disenrolled at any time.
- Nurses come to the home — most care happens where your family member is most comfortable.
Ready to talk?
Azalea Hospice serves families across East Texas. Medicare covers 100% of hospice care — no cost to your family. Call us anytime.
(903) 470-1994
Available 24/7 · Free consultation · azaleahospice.com