Category: Advance Care Planning
Death Then And Now
Increase Mather, one of Puritan New England’s foremost ministers and scholars, died in 1723 at his home in Boston. As he lay “feeble and sore broken” upon his death bed, he faced his life’s end with...
Read MoreIs Dying At Home The Best Option?
“If time were short, where would you want to be?” As a palliative care clinician, I regularly ask my patients, or their family members, where they want to die. Having asked this of hundreds of patients, I have come to expect...
Read MoreThe Problem with Miracle Cancer Cures Is…They Are Not!
I frequently care for patients with advanced cancer. A majority have tried some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Yet, many land back in the hospital because the cancer returned or spread widely. This leaves...
Read MoreTalking About Death in the Era of COVID-19
COVID-19 has us all thinking about the same thing: Death We are thinking of death in one form or another: death in numbers, death in its potential, and death as a threat. Death has crept into the back of our minds and taken up...
Read MoreDon’t Tell Me When I’m Going to Die
Prognoses are more of an art than a science. Deborah, a trim 55-year-old female, was hiking with her husband when the coughing started. She brushed it off, but as the cough became more severe, she had it checked out. The exam...
Read MoreThe Footprint of Death
With all the attention on how we can reduce our carbon footprint, most of us don’t know that we continue to have a significant impact on the environment when we die. All this thanks to our toxin-riddled funeral industry. But a...
Read MoreIt’s Time to Write Your Obituary
Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, was reading the newspaper one morning when he was shocked to discover his obituary inside. The newspaper made a mistake published Alfred’s obituary when his brother died. His shock many...
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Burial and Memoriam
During a recent visit to New York City, I visited the DeathLAB. A group of architects and...
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Transferring A Life
Last Sunday my husband and I began reviewing and editing 50+ years of videotape we recently...
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Patients Who Rely on Religion to Cope Are More Likely to Have Aggressive Medical Care
Terminally ill cancer patients who relied on their religious faith to help them cope with their...
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Aid in Dying Act
On June 9, 2016 California became the fifth state to permit its terminally ill residents to obtain...
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Talking Death Cards
Talking Death Cards provide you with engaging questions that inspire deep and meaningful conversations among family, friends and colleagues in an easy to use playing card format.