Hospice Offers Hope For Those Who Want To End Life At Home; Patients Couldn't Be Cured; Unlike hospitals, hospices provide emotional support for family and friends too.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)

Byline: GLORIA LAU

Hospice is one of those services few people think about, unless they have a loved one who's dying.

Ken and Lucy Francis of Dallas chose hospice care in 2000 when Lucy, then 64, developed lung cancer. The disease already had spread to her liver by the time she showed any obvious symptoms.

It was during a vacation in beachfront Biloxi, Miss., when Lucy felt sharp pain in her liver. They returned home early and a doctor diagnosed her. They learned that the disease was so advanced that chemotherapy and other "curative" treatments would only give her a few extra months at best.

"She didn't want to go through the pain and side effects of chemo and travel back and forth to the hospital just for a few more months," said Ken, now 67 and a retired printer of books, magazine and pamphlets. "She didn't want to live that way. She wanted to die at home surrounded by family and friends."

Lucy died just nine weeks after her diagnosis. Though Odyssey Healthcare Inc., the hospice they hired, Lucy received care from nurses, medical aides and housekeepers. She and Ken were assigned a counselor to talk over her coming death, their emotions and Ken's future.

The fact that the Francises were financially comfortable but not wealthy didn't stop them from hiring the parade of caregivers who came to their home.