End of Life care

The care you get at the end of life should help you to live as well as possible for the time you have left. Your healthcare team will involve you in decisions about your treatment and care.  

End of life care also includes support and practical help for your family and carers.  

This page provides information on what care to expect in the final months and weeks of life. 

What is end of life care? 

End of life care is treatment and care for people who are near the end of their life due to cancer or a serious illness. This usually starts for people in their last year of life.   

End of life care is part of palliative care. Palliative care may start at an earlier point, when you’re diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer, or after your treatment has stopped working. The aim of palliative care is to improve your quality of life. Palliative care can include: 

• Pain and symptom relief 

• Emotional and spiritual support 

• Complementary therapies 

• Practical and financial advice 

• Support for families and bereavement care 

Getting end of life care

Your GP or healthcare team may refer you to a palliative care team, who specialise in caring for people who are approaching the end of their life. Your palliative care team may be based in your local hospital or hospice. The team may include nurses, doctors, hospice staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, complementary therapists and counsellors. You may also get support from your family and from spiritual or religious leaders. 

You can choose where you would prefer to receive care and where you wish to die. You may be able to have care at home, in a hospice, in hospital or in a care home.  

If you choose to have care at home, your GP will be responsible for your care and you will be visited by community nurses. You may wish to visit your local hospice to get medical and nursing care. You can visit during the day or you may be able to stay for a few days before going back home. The hospice may also offer complementary therapies and creative therapies, like art therapy and music therapy. Your GP can tell you where your local hospice is. Or you can search for hospices on the Hospice UK website, which also has information on palliative care. 

Planning for the future

While it can be an upsetting to think about, putting plans in place for the future may help give you some peace of mind. Your choices can be documented by your healthcare team and kept safely with your medical records. This means that that your loved ones know how you’d like to be cared for in case you can no longer express your wishes.

Support and information for you and your loved ones 

There is a lot of information and support available to help you and your family. The following organisations provide reliable, up-to-date information on coping with your diagnosis, making plans, getting the right care and coping with the loss of a loved one. 

Cancer Research UK provides information on coping with bad news, talking about dying, what happens in the final days, what happens after someone dies and support for carers. 

Compassion in Dying has information on planning ahead and making decisions about your care. 

Cruse Bereavement Care offers face to face, telephone and online support for bereaved people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland offers face to face, telephone and online support for bereaved people in Scotland.

Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief has information and support for people in Scotland.

HealthTalk has videos of people talking about how they cope with supporting someone at the end of life and about bereavement.

Hospice UK has information on hospice care and how to find your local hospice. The website includes information on planning ahead, talking about dying, spiritual beliefs, legal issues, end of life care and support for family. It also has a searchable list of local services.

Macmillan Cancer Support has information on dealing with the news, understanding what will happen, making plans, financial advice and spiritual issues. They also have information for friends and family members on caring for someone near death and coping with bereavement.

Maggie’s offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends.

Marie Curie provides information on living with a terminal illness, accessing health services, sorting out your finances, supporting someone at the end of life and coping when someone dies.

Sue Ryder has information on choosing where you want to die and what to expect when death is near. The website also has information for family and carers on making your loved one comfortable, getting support and coping with bereavement.

Our online community is a welcoming place for everyone affected by bowel cancer to ask questions, ask about other people’s experiences and to support each other.

Support for children

Talking to children and young people about dying can be difficult. Hospices may give support to you and the children in your family.

The following websites have information for young people who have a family member with a life limiting illness or who have lost a loved one. 

CRUSE Bereavement Care provides information and support to children and has advice on how to help a child or young person who is grieving.

Fruitfly Collective provides resources for children who have a parent with cancer and support for parents living with cancer. 

Macmillan Cancer Support has produced a booklet called ‘Preparing a child for loss’. 

Marie Curie has information on supporting a child when someone dies. 

Winston’s Wish supports children who have lost a loved one. They also have some information for young people who have a family member with a life-limiting illness.

 

Updated November 2025 

Next review November 2028