# Grief and bereavement support

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/bereavement-support/  
OnCo record `bereavement-support` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Grief after someone dies of cancer is normal and takes its own time. Hospices and cancer charities offer bereavement support to families, and help is available if grief stays very intense for many months.

## Summary

The National Cancer Institute's PDQ summary Grief, Bereavement, and Coping With Loss defines grief as the primarily emotional process of reacting to the loss of a loved one through death, and bereavement as the objective situation one faces after losing an important person. It describes a complicated grief reaction that ICD-11 recognises as prolonged grief disorder, when elevated grief continues six months after the death, and DSM-5 describes as persistent complex bereavement disorder. In the US, the Medicare hospice plan of care includes grief counselling for the family.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: bereavement care; bereavement services; grief counselling; prolonged grief disorder
- Tags: supportive; carer; psychosocial

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grief
- NCI PDQ: Grief, Bereavement, and Coping With Loss (health professional version): https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/advanced-cancer/caregivers/planning/bereavement-hp-pdq
- Medicare.gov: hospice care: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care

## Connected records

- technologies: [Hospice and end-of-life care](https://onco.cc/technologies/hospice-end-of-life/), [Psycho-oncology and distress screening](https://onco.cc/technologies/psycho-oncology/)
- terms: [Spiritual care in cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/spiritual-care-in-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/bereavement-support.json