Medical Terminology
Every health condition comes with its own language, medical terminology and decision options. End of Life is no different. While CPR and DNR may be familiar to many, that doesn’t mean they are understood as intended.
New ‘terms’ such as Allow Natural Death or AND and Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking or VSED have been created to add to options to consider. Understanding the words and terms used is one thing. Being able to act on them is another.
Zal Press: Mr Patient Commando – Who’s important?
Guest blogger, Zal Press, created Patient Commando to give patients' stories a 'voice'. Pictured here in his 'teach about Crohn's' lab coat, he shares his thoughts on ont of Best Endings topics: Who's important to you? Who’s important in my end-of-life plan?...
Allow Natural Death
Dying, death and the evasive language we use Euphemisms for dying and death abound. But what about the words used when telling someone – anyone – that death is near (‘near’ being a relative term). You’re dying may be the hardest words – right up there with ‘I’m sorry’...
Funerals: rites, rituals and traditions
We’ve been sending off our loved (or not so loved) ones since the beginning of time. While our End is always the same (dead is dead, however the end may have come) the rites, rituals and traditions take on as many different forms as there are cultures. Long-standing...
Veteran’s Story: Palliative Care adds 6 years of life
Veteran Jim Cooper came to Palliative Care to die. Instead, he got 6 years of life. For many, Palliative Care is a scary term: it equals dying and death. Few who feel this way would think of admitting themselves to a Palliative Care Program. But that's just...
