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Tag: death and dying
The Shocking Truth About Death!
In a recent New York Times article entitled Posting to Mourn a Û÷FriendÛª writer Ian Lovett wrote about how Facebook and Twitter Posts have contributed to a phenomenon of public mourning. The article notes that: “For much of the 20th century, this type of public mourning, even for loved ones,...
End of Life Discussions Struck from Legislation
Last year, new Medicare guidelines were proposed that would allow doctors to get reimbursed for holding voluntary end-of-life consultations with patients during annual medical checkups. It would have given specific directions to doctors on what they should tell patients, including discussion of palliative care, hospice and other services. In early...
Quality of Life at End of Life Can Be Aided by Palliative Care
Some terminally ill patients who receive palliative care live longer and with a better quality of life than those who receive standard medical care, a new report suggests. Researchers at Harvard Medical School evaluated the life expectancy and quality of life of roughly 150 patients with terminal lung cancers. They...
Having Caregiver Support Not Always Comforting to Elders
From McKnight’s – Some groups of elderly people actually report being more afraid of death if they have a strong family network of caregivers. Researchers at the University College London interviewed roughly 1,000 people from a wide variety of ethnic backgroundsÛÓincluding Indian, Pakistani, black Caribbean, Chinese and whiteÛÓfor their study...
Even Funeral Homes Understand the Experience
Did you catch the article about funeral home experiences in the NYT? Very interesting. Funeral directors are starting to understand that the experience even extends to the dead (and their love ones) as they customize the ultimate send off. Bike lovers pay an extra $200 or so to take their...
Make Your End of Life Decisions While Your Life is in Full Bloom
There is a great article in the NYT in which they interview a now retired physician Robert L. Martensen about the state of health care. He observes that “most Americans die in hospitals or nursing homes, and neither is configured to take care of dying patients.” So you end up...
God Rest St. James
I have written and spoken about the fact that my 87-year-old mother has a boyfriend. His name is Jim and I called him St. James for having the patience of a saint to put up with my mother. (I love her dearly but she can be a stubborn Italian!) Oh...