Hospice vs. Palliative Care
For people who are not sure whether hospice care is the right next step, palliative care can often provide the right level of support.
Both hospice care and palliative care focus on improving quality of life and relieving symptoms and side effects, but they aren’t the same. Understanding the differences between these types of care can help you decide what may best fit your needs.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people living with a serious illness like cancer. It may also be called supportive care or symptom management. This care can help a person feel better and improve their ability to take part in daily activities. It can be provided at any stage of a serious illness.
How are hospice and palliative care different?
Both types of care focus on a person's physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual needs. Hospice care usually includes palliative care, but they are not the same thing.
The main difference is that palliative care can help you at any point during a serious illness, while hospice is focused on end-of-life care. Hospice care is given to people who are expected to live for 6 months or less and want to focus on comfort instead of treatment to cure their disease.
Are palliative care and hospice care separate services?
Palliative care is an important part of hospice care. It’s usually given by the hospice team.
But palliative care is available outside of hospice care, too. It is often provided by a specialized palliative care team. Whether you’re still getting cancer treatment or not, palliative care can help prevent or treat symptoms and side effects. It can help you feel better and improve your quality of life. Getting care from a palliative team can be helpful, even when you’re not ready to try hospice.
Comparing hospice care and palliative care
Knowing the differences between hospice and palliative care can help you understand what type of care you are eligible for and what you might need in the future. Even people who are eligible for hospice care might not choose to enroll in hospice right away. For these people, getting care from a palliative care team can be a good option during or even after cancer treatment. And the palliative care team can help with the transition to hospice when the time is right.
Hospice
Someone with a serious illness, such as cancer, who is expected to live 6 months or less if the disease follows its usual course.
Palliative care
Anyone with a serious illness, such as cancer, at any stage of treatment.
Hospice
When cancer can no longer be cured or controlled and life expectancy is 6 months or less
Palliative care
At the time of diagnosis of a serious illness, like cancer
Hospice
Care goals are to help improve comfort, manage symptoms, and relieve pain. Care can improve quality of life and allow the person to spend time with loved ones or doing things they love.
Palliative care
Care goals are to help manage symptoms and side effects of the illness or treatment. Care can improve quality of life while a person is treated for a disease.
Hospice
No, care focuses on comfort. It is given after you choose to stop receiving treatment to control or cure cancer.
Palliative care
Yes, you can get this care along with treatment to control or cure cancer.
Hospice
Services offered may include:
- Nurse visits
- Hospice provider visits (doctor or advanced practice provider)
- Spiritual visits
- Social worker visits
- Medication management
- Medical supplies
- Respite care
- Bereavement care
Palliative care
Services offered may include:
- Medication management for symptoms
- Nurse visits
- Provider visits (doctor or advanced practice provider)
- Social worker visits
- Advanced care planning or filling out advanced directives
- Working with other members of your health care team to develop care plans
Hospice
A hospice team oversees and gives most of the care. The team includes:
- Doctors
- Nurse practitioners (NP) or physician associates/assistants (PA)
- Nurses
- Social workers
- Hospice aids
- Volunteers
- Spiritual leaders
Sometimes, your cancer care team or primary care provider may be involved too.
Palliative care
Care is given by a specialized team trained in palliative care. The team may include:
- Doctors
- Nurse practitioners (NP) or physician associates/assistants (PA)
- Nurses
- Social workers
This team will work with your cancer care team, primary care provider, or other specialists to provide care. For example, the palliative care team might manage medicines related to symptoms while the cancer care team manages any medicines for cancer treatment.
Hospice
- Home
- Skilled nursing facility
- Assisted living facility
- Nursing home
- Hospital
- Inpatient hospice unit (IPU)
Palliative care
- Home
- Outpatient clinic
- Skilled nursing facility
- Assisted living facility
- Nursing home
- Hospital
Hospice
As long as you are eligible for hospice
Palliative care
As long as you need and your insurance allows
Hospice
Medicare covers many hospice services. For others, it may depend on your plan and the care you get.
Palliative care
Medicare and Medicaid usually cover palliative care, but it may require a co-pay. For others, it depends on your plan and the care you get.
How do I find palliative care?
For most people with cancer, palliative care is offered and started by your cancer treatment team. They may provide some palliative care, like helping you manage symptoms and side effects during treatment.
If you are stopping treatment and aren’t ready for hospice or want to continue treatment and just need extra support, ask your cancer care team about other palliative care options. They can often refer you to a team of palliative care specialists for more services.
Learn more in Palliative Care.
- Written by
- References
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Hospice Foundation of America. The difference between hospice care and palliative care. Updated November 2024. Accessed at https://hospicefoundation.org/the-difference-between-hospice-care-and-palliative-care/ on May 28, 2026.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Palliative care or hospice? The right service at the right time for seriously ill individuals. Nhpco.org. Accessed at https://www.nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PalliativeCare_VS_Hospice.pdf on May 28, 2026.
National Alliance for Care at Home. What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care. CaringInfo.org. Accessed at https://www.caringinfo.org/types-of-care/what-is-the-difference-between-palliative-care-and-hospice-care/ on May 28, 2026.
National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA). What are palliative care and hospice? Updated May 2021. Accessed at https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/hospice-and-palliative-care/what-are-palliative-care-and-hospice-care#what-is-palliative-care on April 16, 2026.
National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA). Providing care and comfort at the end of life. Updated November 2022. Accessed at https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/end-life/providing-care-and-comfort-end-life#end-of-life-providing-physical-comfort on April 17, 2026.
Teoli D, Schoo C, Kalish VB. Palliative Care. [Updated 2023 Feb 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537113/ on April 16, 2026.
Last Revised: May 28, 2026
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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