The End Of Life A Woman 's Last Wishes

This author’s personal perceptions concerning patients facing a lingering terminal illness, have been shaped by over 20 years of critical care nursing experience. Facing death and illness on a daily basis requires self-examination and a high degree of comfort with one’s own mortality, limits and values. Constant exposure to the fragility of life forces respect for the whole person and the people who love them. A general approach to patients who are actively dying is to allow them to define what they want and need during this time. The nurse’s role

It’s astonishing how one diagnosis can completely alter the life of a family. One day you’re looking to move into the fancy houses along the coast, and the next you’re forced to consider if you would be able to afford the same home with one income. When I was three years old my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was too young to know what was happening, but at the age of seven, when my mom was diagnosed for the second time, I began to notice a change in my family’s daily life. I was told not to sit on my mom’s lap and that she could not play with me as much as usual due to her Chemotherapy, but it was not until her third time contracting cancer that I noticed the pain she was in. I was fourteen when I finally learned about the very thing I had been trying to figure out for nearly my entire life. This burden has solely shaped the way I act and how I handle life’s many challenges, but how it accomplished this was not always a joyous experience.

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

Being diagnosed with cancer has impacted my outlook on life in many different ways. At first I saw cancer as a burden on my life and only the negative attributes stood out on how it was going to change my life and the way I saw people around me, but now after being two years cancer free, I have gone to realize the positive aspects cancer has had on my life.

In nursing, the goal of care is usually to restore the patient back to the highest level of health possible. In some cases, however, the goals of care change when a curative approach is no longer appropriate. The new goals of care could simply be palliation and pain control rather than a restoration back to full health. This type of care is called palliative care. Palliative care is not the same as end-of-life care, but the two go hand-in-hand at times. The goal of end-of-life care is a “good” death, good being defined by the patient. Palliation is part of that “good” death. Both palliative care and end-of-life

In the ever changing role and dynamic atmosphere that healthcare provides, unique challenges and opportunities constantly arise which are a multi-faceted labyrinth of ethical and moral dilemma. One of the most contested and widely debated topics to be found in the healthcare workplace today is the subject of Assisted Suicide. Altering a person’s course of death into a process driven role, rather than the client’s final life event, creates a myriad of ethical and moral dilemmas.

Küber-Ross understood that everyone is different and some people may jump between two stages multiple times, or might not even experience some stages. The first feeling is denial of the diagnosis. In this stage the person may not believe that they are dying of lung cancer, and continue on with their daily life as if nothing happened. The second feeling is anger. The person may now realize the diagnosis is true, and become angry with the whole situation. Their anger may be displaced on family, friends, or coworkers. Third, is bargaining, where the person will try to negotiate with their god for more time in exchange for something. Next, is depression, where the person realizes they have no control over the situation, or that they have regrets in life. Finally, the last stage is acceptance, where the person may be able to redeem his situation for himself and can help his family in their own grieving

As people approach the end of their lives, they with their families and their caregivers, face many tasks and decisions. They may be psychological, spiritual, or medical in nature, but all end-of-life choices and medical decisions have complex psychological components, ramifications, and consequences that have a significant impact on the suffering patients and their caregivers.

Sixty percent of all deaths occur in hospitals, and 80% to 90% of the deaths will be expected (Freeman 2013). A peaceful death may mean something different to one patient than to someone else. Of course, often one doesn’t get to choose. But, avoiding suffering, having your end-of-life wishes followed, and being treated with respect while dying are common hopes. The critical needs of dying people may also include: understanding what can be expected of death, being able to maintain a sense of control and having their wishes given preference, having access to information, and having access to spiritual and emotional support (Chan, Webster & Bowers 2016).

“’So what’s your story?’” she then then replies “’I already told you my story. I was diagnosed when-‘” He interrupts and says “’No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, etcetera… Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who becomes their disease. I know so many people like that. It’s disheartening. Like cancer is in the growth business, right? The taking-people-over business. But surely you haven’t let it succeed prematurely’” (Green, 32).

In the New York Times bestseller Being Mortal, surgeon and author Atul Gawande tackles just what may be the most difficult challenge of his profession, learning how to handle the ‘end-of-life process.’ Throughout his book, he recites the stories of several individuals, in which the trajectory from a state of independence to one of death can easily be traced in each. Although Gawande does acknowledge that death is inevitable, he emphasizes that individuals of society, especially those that work in the health care field, have not yet learned how to deal with this slow process well, if at all. Surprisingly, he does not blame patients or the intrinsic difficulty that death itself brings, but in fact is relentless in the criticism of his fellow physicians, stating ‘we’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival…it is to enable well-being.’ (Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal pp.259) This paper aims to further analyze Gawande’s position on end-of-life care, understand why palliative care must play a larger role than interventional medicine during a patient’s last few weeks and determine whether a physician’s role during this crucial time should be that of a ‘healer’ or a ‘sustainer of the soul.’

As the political debates are in full action, I am certainly aware of the discussion of controversial topics. Although assisted suicide is not among the topics, however I do understand the difficulties of addressing sensitive topics. The following assignment is a reflection on Helping a Suicide When the End Isn't Near. First, I’ll introduce the debaters as well as their background and position on this controversial topic. Next, I will address my view and rationale pertaining to the topic.

Being diagnosed with a poor prognosis can cause a various experience and a range of emotions. However, people have to manage these feelings to live a fulfilling life. There are many emotional and cognitive responses which an individual may face after knowing about the diagnosed disease and its prognosis. It is a very difficult situation for the individual and the family. In addition, the individual’s mentally gets changed after knowing his condition. The individual must try to overcome those feelings and remain strong to fight with the diagnosed disease.

I cannot describe what I felt when my mom told me she had cancer. I was sad, I was scared; I did not even know if I felt anything. My mom, however, stayed positive and hopeful while I stayed quiet and seemingly apathetic. There was an obvious ironic contrast between the emotional state of me and the woman who actually had cancer.

Many psychologists feel that psychological treatment is also a good way to teach patients how to endure their physical treatments. Many of these treatments present physical problems, but the treatments are almost more taxing on the mind. “Research clearly shows that unrelieved pain can slow recovery, create burdens for patients and their families and increase costs to the health care system.” (Rabasca, 1999). In overcoming anything whether it is a task for work, school or anything that can be physically and mentally draining like cancer, it is important to keep a strong mind and a positive outlook no matter how rough it is. Most patients of cancer are so far