When Cancer Reaches the End-of-Life Phase In this Article Since your diagnosis, you’ve been tested and treated to control the cancer in your body. When something worked, you stuck with it. If it stopped working, you and your health care team reviewed the options and perhaps tried a different treatment. When you reach the end-of-life stage of cancer, there may be no more methods available to control your cancer -- or you are ready to stop all the testing and treatment. Your care, however, continues. The focus shifts from trying to stop the cancer to focusing on helping you live as well and as comfortably as possible for the rest of your life.