by KathyKastner | Feb 19, 2015 | Blog, Medical Decisions
Medical decisions: why does saying ‘no’ mean you need a psychiatric consult? That’s what seems to happen if someone – anyone – decides they don’t want any more medical interventions. Take this story of a 70-year old woman – still vigorous and enjoying life: “After her...
by KathyKastner | Feb 16, 2015 | Blog, Inspiration, Medical Decisions, Personal Stories
Living, knowing you are going to die Drawn, as I am, to learning ever more about how we die, and how ‘one’ dies, this David Dow title, “Things I’ve learned from Dying ” had me at ‘hello’ Dow – who is very much alive – is a death row lawyer in...
by KathyKastner | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Medical Decisions
How to tell patients they’re likely to die Health care professionals often have difficulty facilitating hope and coping strategies when managing end-of-life issues. Advising a limited life expectancy has an obvious impact on the patients, caregivers and their...
by KathyKastner | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Medical Decisions
PEG or Percutaneous endoscopic gastric feeding tubes, long assumed to help bed-bound dementia patients stave off or overcome bed sores/pressure ulcers, may instead make the wounds more likely to develop or not improve, according to a study. “We see a...
by KathyKastner | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Information, Medical Decisions, Research
Surrogates suffer in their role as patients’ decision-makers “A Systematic review: the effect on surrogates of making treatment decisions for others”– published in the Annals of Internal Medicine – was the topic of discussion on Pallimed: A Hospice...
by KathyKastner | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Information, Medical Decisions, Quality of Life, Research
“Can’t you do something about her pain?” An 85-year-old woman with multiple medical problems, including dementia, coronary artery disease, renal insufficiency, and peripheral vascular disease, was admitted to our hospital with urosepsis. Her hospital...
