A century ago, most people spent their last hours of life at home surrounded by family and friends. More recent generations have experienced death in the hospital often shrouded in machines and tubes. For many people death is a subject they choose n...
Some medical professionals wonder if "do not resuscitate" orders are being carried too far. Should the pendulum swing back to a mid point between that and doing everything possible to preserve life? Activists promoting euthanasia or physician-assist...
People's reactions to an impending death sentences do not always follow a predictable course. Emotions range from anger to denial to acceptance, moving back and forth. Fear is common - fear of pain, fear of being abandoned, fear of not having time t...
Some patients faced with a terminal illness do not want to prolong an existence that to them is subhuman. In the 1970s and '80s the medical profession felt it was their professional and legal obligation to do everything possible to prolong life. Cou...
Hilary, a patient terminally ill with A.I.D.S., is ready to die. We hear her story and the reactions of caregivers whose professional training and emotional focus toward healing the sick are being challenged.
Hospice care, palliative care for dying individuals, is lauded by patients and their families. It can be provided in the home or in specialized care settings, and allows patients and their families to experience love and support during their final d...
Studies reveal that children who are given information about their terminal condition fare better than those who are shielded from such information. Sandra McDonald, head of Outreach, Inc., talks about a ten-year-old boy who was diagnosed with A.I.D...
Toward the end of life, the pace changes. Hilary, a terminally ill A.I.D.S. patient, notes that she prefers to limit her social interactions at this stage in the dying process. She has said her good-byes, and feels a physical calmness as her body sl...
The subject of death is often as uncomfortable for doctors as the general public. Their focus is on healing and saving people; death is the enemy. There was a time when doctors did not always reveal that a patient's condition was terminal. Today pro...