Terminal Illness Research Paper

I. Main point #1 According to StatisticBrain.com, “55% of terminally ill patients die in pain.”

Nurses in specialty care continue to change the health care system to meet the needs of patients regardless of the setting. Hospice and palliative care is an area of nursing specialty care that has grown since the 1970s when it began (Cowen and Moorhead, 2011). Leaders in nursing identify change that is needed and discover ways to make the changes possible. The leadership in nursing brought forth attention for patients with terminal illness. Nurses defined hospice and palliative care, developed core principles, practices, provided education and then pushed for the care to be available in multiple settings (Cowen and Moorhead, 2011). The continued growth in this specialty area of nursing is related to the positive outcomes of patients that have

The aim of a hospice is to improve the quality of life of the dying

Have you ever been forced to watch someone that you love dearly fall victim to a terminal illness that diminishes their quality of life a bit more with each day that passes? The illness not only wreaks havoc on the person who is suffering from it, but it also destroys the life of the caregiver. As cruel as it may sound, sometimes the best option is the termination of the poor life that is withering away.

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

In recent years, Hospice care have risen to popularity and is being widely used among many terminally – ill patients and their families. This is evident in a report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, “In 2014, an estimated 1.6million – 1.7 million patients received services from Hospice” (NHPCO, 2015). It is seen that many people uses Hospice care which means that many deaths are also under the care of a Hospice program, therefore, patients and families satisfaction is a crucial factor in assessing the quality of Hospice care and how to make improvement for future services. Thus, I decided to conduct a research on patient and/or caregivers satisfaction that received care from hospice programs.

Dying due to an incurable illness can be devastating With responsibility of caretaking falling chiefly on the patient’s family. While dealing with the normal every day activities that families encounter, becoming a primary caregiver to the terminally ill is an emotional as well as financial burden. The ill person usually lives in the house of a family member, which forces the family to witness the person dying every day. Having to watch a person suffer in your own home is depressing to even the strongest of people and knowing there is nothing that can be done to stop their pain makes things that much worse. Studies have shown that people who receive a terminal illness diagnosis become depressed and develop anxiety. Because of the mood disorders that can

And the final stage is acceptance. In this stage it where people are ready to move on and preparing themselves to be without that person (C, n.d.-b). Or have calmness about them. Sometimes terminally ill people show acceptance by putting up a strong front through adversity. For example, Craig Sage who is a sideline reporter for the television network TNT has been diagnosed with leukemia cancer and has been given 3-6 months to live. He is determined to work despite his prognosis and fight to stay alive.

An incurable disease, other times referred to as a chronic or terminal illness, is a disease that does not have the ability of being cured, however can be managed through various forms of medication and treatment. Along with agonizing physical impacts, incurable diseases have a subset of just as excruciating mental and social impacts, but they don't always come directly from the disease itself. Instead, these effects come from different disorders that all impact each other, the most common among patients being depression, anxiety, insomnia, and prolonged grief disorder.

The educational topic related to the nursing profession that I am interested in enhancing my nursing practice and knowledge in is palliative and end of life care. Specifically, furthering my education to encompasses more spiritual knowledge and strategies when encountering patient specific cases.

Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their

As a help the Terminal Illness, "Terminal Illness" we hear this word, feel that it is very serious for symptoms. The torment of the patient in the Terminal Illness, there are several symptoms such as physical body decreases rapidly until not able to help themselves. (Walia & Ivneet K,2010) present arguments to emphasize that The euthanasia is, therefore a choice that terminally patients can choose while the patient is conscious, then also resourceful because they do not want to suffer from the illness that to confront. For example, (Brittany M,2014) notes that Brittany Maynard, she lived in Portland, Oregon (USA). She exercised euthanasia because of malignant brain tumor Doctors offer full brain radiation, which she rejected because they know

Imagine you were born into this world with a terminal disease or that you have been living a healthy life style but one day you get a terminal disease. You are

1.)     Explain how the answers to the self-inventories in the text concerning facts, attitudes, beliefs and feelings about death reflect our societal understanding or lack of understanding of death. I think that the self- inventory question reflected on both our understanding and lack of understanding about death related topics. Some of the answers to the questions on the inventory I knew without look at the answers, but some of the answers actually surprised me. The question about the death certificate was one of the questions that actually surprised me. I assumed before I did the inventory that every death certificate had a specific cause of death that was given on the certificate. Another answer that

There are many definitions for the word "terminal." For example, Jack Kevorkian who participated in the deaths of more than 130 people before he was convicted of murder said that a terminal illness was "any disease that curtails