It’s one of the last weeks in December. If it was any other year, I would have realized that Christmas is around the corner, the air would be filled with a different, radiant, joyful kind of energy, and most of us would be focused on all the less…
Category: Palliative care
You deserve a doctor who’s a good fit for you [PODCAST]
“I implore you — even if it’s difficult — if you don’t like your doctor, take the time and find a new one! How do you do that? Check your insurance for who they cover, and then ask your friends who they see and like. Google the physician. Google …
‘My Time to Live’: Through Novel Program, Kidney Patients Get Palliative Care, Dialysis ’Til the End
Seattle’s Northwest Kidney Centers, which pioneered kidney failure treatment 50 years ago, now pairs dying patients with hospice services, without forcing them to forgo the comfort dialysis can provide.
Successfully navigating advance directives to choose your best one
As a surrogate consultant, people often ask me for advice on the best advance directive (AD) to cover their medical and end-of-life (EOL) wishes. Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. An AD is a “legally recognized” document usually containin…
Why it’s important for physicians to talk about death
For most care providers, having conversations about end of life comes with certain challenges. Most medical education prioritizes diagnosis and treatment of illness with the goal of extending life; therefore, it can be quite difficult to acknowledge wh…
A conversation on death and hope a pediatric palliative care physician
As rising fourth-year medical students, we talked about caring for dying patients with Dr. Angie Anderson (AA), a pediatric palliative care specialist. An abridged version of our conversation is transcribed below. Lindsey Pileika (LP): Honored to speak…
Emotional agility is an essential element for patients and practitioners
An excerpt from Grief Connects Us: A Neurosurgeon’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and Compassion. Brené Brown describes the importance of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and holds up the surgeon as an example of someone who is exempted from this by…
Today is the day you’ll have to die
She was listless in bed with agonal breathing — only 63 years old. Before stage 4 colon cancer claimed my mother, she chose to come home to her house … her bedroom, where she’d stare out her window at the dogwood trees that symbolized the blood o…
End-of-life conversations: Embrace the responsibility [PODCAST]
“For physicians who lack experience in end-of-life counseling, the process can be daunting at the beginning. However, they can be confident that once they have obtained the proper training, preparation, and experience, these conversations will be…
Expressing grief through the power of story [PODCAST]
“Now the room is silent as if nothing at all occurred. I stand watching the red stain forming on the pristine white sheet, mocking me in my failure. I trained at excellent institutions, survived residency, and served in combat. Now, here at a Lev…
