“I don’t know how you do what you do.” About 90 percent of the time, this is the response I get when I tell people that I am a hospice physician. “Isn’t it sad to work with dying people all the time? You lose all of your patients… that must be so difficult.”
Having been exposed to the many different ways that people can die throughout my medical training, I see …
A KevinMD article about Jimmy Carter’s end-of-life care decision, “The heartbreaking story of Jimmy Carter: a call for Medicare reform in end-of-life care,” indicated that the former president’s decision was heartbreaking. However, I have a different view. In my opinion, the 39th president, at age 98, made an autonomous and well-informed decision.
On February 18, The Carter Center announced in a statement that “after a series of short hospital stays, …
The purpose of the serious illness conversation is to offer patients a clear choice between treating and not treating an incurable disease like liver cancer. The goal is to give the person permission to alleviate pain and suffering. The individual might decide to be treated as a patient or honored as a person if given this option near the end of life.
A non-serious illness conversation ends with the patient wishing …
With no true endgame or advance directive, Tom Brady’s legacy as an NFL superstar and family man remains nebulous.
Is his recent retirement from football officially the end? Will he entertain offers to stay alive and play one more year? With being at the 45-year-old “yard line” and facing the goalpost at the end of the football field, what’s his endgame for the next year?
When do the false promises end …
Words are everything.
They carry energy. They are the currency of our connection to each other. They are the currency through which we will share with future generations; they are how we communicate with people in generations past. And they carry weight in terms of how we speak to ourselves.
When we begin to grow in awareness of the words we are using and the language we choose, it sometimes becomes humbling …
My husband passed away six months ago, and it is quite evident to me that not only do I miss him, but so does our dog Grace. She adored Bill and would scamper to find him if I directed her to “Go find dad!” I no longer use the word dad, as that sets her off on a sad but fruitless chase around the house.
Very soon after Bill died, it …
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Join us as we delve into the controversial topic of assisted suicide with our guest, Nicholas S. Tito, a medical student. This thought-provoking episode will explore the Western world’s growing support for legally assisted euthanasia and the …
“I just can’t. I can’t,” Wendy sobbed into my hair. We barely made it out the door when our bodies collapsed together, puddles holding puddles. The children, 5 and 7, had just left with their tiny grey backpacks, tiny soldiers off to the abyss. Pastel crayon drawings taped to every pale pink wall: “Mom! Get well soon!” But she wouldn’t. Rainbows and stick figures clung to the white paper on …
The recent decision by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to transition to hospice brings much-needed attention to this crucial part of health care. Hospice care is an essential and compassionate component of modern medicine, providing support and care to patients and families during the most challenging time of their lives. Historically, hospice care has been long stigmatized as giving up on treatment. However, the truth is the opposite. Hospice provides …
My husband was clearly losing his independence after a terminal diagnosis and many hospital visits. I was getting more and more responsibility, which I didn’t mind, but the best way we could handle it was just to let it happen. There was no way to stop it, so we just had to live with it. The changes were slow in coming, and eventually, my being responsible for everything just fell …
I wrote an article on letting grief make you stronger and talked about a trip to the grocery store where I was not as strong as I hoped. I walked by the Cream Puffs and broke into tears. My husband passed away almost four months ago, and he always used to ask me to get cream puffs when I went to the store. I didn’t even think about it until …
Effective communication has the potential to promote understanding, safety, and connection. It is the foundation of high-quality health care. Our use of language to heal is important in all facets of medicine, but words may be even more powerful when patients face a terminal diagnosis. When medications and life-saving interventions are less of a priority, language can instill hope and honor the human behind the illness. As such, I believe …
We began with terminally ill patients, but the slippery slope is alive and well, smothered in oil. The Western world is increasingly advocating for the advancement of legal euthanasia, and this is a huge mistake. In their quest, advocates for legally assisted suicide by way of a physician are redefining the definition of “immense suffering.” For example, Canada is considering including mental health disorders as eligible for legally assisted euthanasia. …
Pele, the famous Brazilian soccer star, reportedly stopped medical treatment for colon cancer. Media outlets stated he was receiving various iterations of comfort, hospice, and palliative care which were perceived as criminal and disrespectful. His daughter denied these allegations on Instagram.
How often are those with serious illnesses treated like criminals for wrongdoing?
When medical treatment is withdrawn or withheld, it seems the person has lost the battle or chose not …
‘This victory ensures that advance planning documents are legally enforceable and will be respected by doctors; if they are not, individuals can hold providers accountable for violating their health care decisions.”
– Greenberg decision, 2022
Dr. Gerald Greenberg was a New York dentist when in 2010, he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. In 2011, he executed a living will stating the medical staff was to provide comfort measures only and no medical …
Consider Medicare enrollment with the end in mind. In case of emergency, do seniors prefer medical care or holistic care? Might they designate a medical power of attorney or a merciful power of attorney? Do they oblige CPR or sign a DNR order?
The JAMA Network just published Death and End-of-Life Care in Emergency Departments in the U.S. This retrospective cohort study concludes that,
Robust systems of emergency care …
The first time I saw someone die was when I volunteered in the ER as an undergraduate student.
That day I was helping in the trauma bay, and my job was to quickly run STAT or urgent blood specimens to the lab.
The year was 1994. It was winter time, and the tension of the people sitting in the waiting room was palpable to me every time I would go through those …
The finality of death is a powerful teacher. For some patients, being diagnosed with a terminal illness is an experience that lends a tremendous shift in perspective and newfound authenticity. This can be instructive to them and the people around them. As psychologist Charles Garfield says, “The living have much to learn from the dying.”
This applies not only to the experience of a terminal illness but also to its …
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