Canadians with serious or progressive chronic illness are feeling especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has underscored how quickly circumstances can change. Talking about a serious illness diagnosis and the impact on life expectancy i…
Some years ago, my husband and I sat with his mother at her kitchen table and went over advance care planning documents her doctor had given her. She was in her mid-70s then, living independently but managing several chronic health issues. The document…
Physicians have gone toe-to-toe with death since the earliest days of the profession, even knowing that our efforts would often be futile. Over the past century, dramatic technological advances have nearly doubled the average American lifespan, and mod…
“In Wooster, Ohio, where I practiced, a small not-for-profit hospice agency relied on local physicians, clergy, and many other volunteers to supplement the skills and dedication of their employed staff. It was through this work with Hospice of Wa…
As a third-year medical student finally in the clinical arena, I’ve seen much more real medicine in the last three months than the entirety of my life. I’ve learned that the ethical dilemmas and the difficult patients are not restricted to TV medical d…
If a family member or friend asked you to serve as his/her medical power of attorney, what would your answer be? Many people agree to assume this role without a second thought, but you should take some time to understand what your responsibilities as a…
Like most situations that physicians encounter in their work, end-of-life conversations are not easy and require preparation and training. Yet these patient discussions are among the most satisfying I’ve experienced in my career because they’ve made me…
“Holding space means being physically, mentally, and emotionally present for someone. It means putting your focus on someone to support them as they feel their feelings. An important aspect of holding space is managing judgment while you are pres…
“To help the reader understand the issues better, I would like to relate some stories. A friend of mine was dying of pancreatic cancer. He had an implantable morphine pump and was on both hospice and palliative care. Still, he found that his suff…
I wrote my undergraduate thesis on death and dying. I read journal articles trying to understand what death meant and how it affected people. I spent hours reading books, both fiction and nonfiction, trying to understand if you can ever die a good deat…
