End-of-Life Care – Page 16 – The Good Death Society Blog

July 26, 2020March 18, 2022

Transition–an end and a new beginning

This blog post represents the end of three years of work for me. In August, responsibility for the blog is being transferred to the capable hands of FEN board member Kevin Bradley. (Continue reading ...)

November 3, 2019

Excerpts from the book “Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life”–PART 2

Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, shares two more vignettes from her book "Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life." The book provides an insider’s view of intensive care in America and its impact on how we die. (Continue reading ...)

October 27, 2019

Excerpts from the book “Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life”–Part 1

This week's post includes two vignettes from the book "Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life" by Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH. The book provides an insider’s view of intensive care in America and its impact on how we die. Part 2 will appear next week. (Continue reading ...)

September 22, 2019March 18, 2022

Is a “good death” a viable option

Two weeks ago, I spoke to about twenty people at the regular weekly meeting of the Ethical Society of Austin (Texas). The topic was the seven choices available to a person who becomes afflicted with dementia. I began by asking what, for them, are the characteristics of a "good death." In about ten minutes, the group offered ideas that suggest a "good death" is a viable option, with some universal characteristics, in spite of some voices to the contrary. (Continue reading ...)

September 15, 2019September 15, 2019

Options near the end of life–Exploring Parkinson’s

My wife and I had occasion to visit some old friends in California recently. We have known one member of the couple since 1962, when we started college together. We last saw them almost three years ago and have stayed in touch through email and phone calls. David has Parkinson's Disease (PD), so we knew that we would likely find him in worse shape than the last time we saw him, when his main symptom was a slight tremor in his hands and a shuffling gait when he walked. Lois had given us reports that he was working on therapies to counter the effects of the Parkinson's. (Continue reading ...)

September 9, 2019

Strategy for a Care Giver’s Survival

For the last several years of his wife Jackie's fatal illness–Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD)–Lew Lorton was her caregiver and maintained a blog he titled "Just A Guy Muddling Through" about his experiences and thoughts. In this post, he explains some guidelines he developed to help himself through the experience. (Continue reading ...)

June 23, 2019March 16, 2022

Anticipating and Deflecting the Worst Effects of Our End-of-Life Milieu

FEN members, more so than the citizenry at large, are dedicated to the goal of dying in peace. However, I suspect that FEN members, very much like most everyone else, may inadvertently misconstrue the meaning of the phrase “to die in peace” and what it may take to achieve given our society’s end-of-life milieu.… (Continue reading ...)

May 12, 2019

Nursing homes and an increased incidence of suicide

Are patients in nursing homes more likely to die from suicide? A look at a recent report on the subject in the Annals of Long-Term Care. (Continue reading ...)

April 7, 2019March 16, 2022

Pain management at the end of life

End-of-life pain can be complex and not all such pain is easily or satisfactorily controlled. FEN member Craig Phillips shares his experiences with pain control while working as a volunteer in a hospice. (Continue reading ...)

March 17, 2019

Refusing unwanted medical treatment–Part 5: Physician liability, continued

This is the final post of the series reviewing Professor Thaddeus Pope's analysis of why clinicians perceive that not following a patient's preferences about end-of-life care carries little risk for them. Additional legal remedies (causes of action available against clinicians who ignore patient choices), along with administrative penalties, and possible criminal liability for clinicians in some jurisdictions are discussed. (Continue reading ...)

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