Palliative care is much like Hospice care, the main difference is that with Hospice care you need a doctor's prognosis that life expectancy is no more than 6 months. No further care is given to the prognosis cause other than to keep the patient comfortable. If someone lives longer than the six months given, it can be extended and it's completely covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Palliative care is covered by insurance, treatment for the underlying cause can be continued, it is not based on whether the person is expected to die. The aim is still comfort of the patient and caretakers.

A prognosis of skin cancer depends on the type it is. I had one major surgery in 1980 and several other minor ones of both of the types that do not metastasize into something more serious. The odds are that when you have these less serious types, more will develop over time. I see the doctor once a year and more often when I see any irregularities appearing. Most are treated by freezing if they are minor. Waiting too long may result in surgery.