Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to help your loved one make important end-of-life decisions — such as whether to remain at home, move to a nursing home or other facility, or seek hospice care. Also, you can work with your loved one 's health care team to make sure your loved one remains comfortable at the end of life. Pain, anxiety and other end-of-life symptoms can often be treated.
Even at the end of life, you can continue to support and nurture your relationship with your loved one. Simply being there can be an important source of strength and comfort for everyone.
Grief
When a loved one dies, grief can feel like a dagger in your heart. Often, grief triggers raw, intense emotions. You might wonder how you 'll ever pick up the pieces and heal your wounds — yet not feel as if you 're betraying your loved one 's memory.
There are no quick fixes for the grief and anguish that follow a loved one 's death. As you face your grief, acknowledge the pain and know that it 's part of the healing process. Take good care of yourself, and seek support from friends and loved ones.
Although your life will never be quite the same, the searing pain of grief will eventually become less intense. Accepting your new "normal" can help you reconcile your losses and move on with your life.
Hospice Care
Also called: End-of-life care
Hospice care is end-of-life care provided by health professionals and volunteers. They give medical, psychological and spiritual support. The goal of the care is to help people who are dying have peace, comfort and dignity. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs also provide services to support a patient 's family.
Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live 6 months or less. Hospice care
References: Barry, B. & Henderson, A. (1996). Value of decision making in the terminally ill patient. Cancer Nursing, 19(5), 384-291. Boyle, J.S., Buntin, S.M., Hodnicki, D.R., & Ferrell, J.A. (2001). Critical thinking in African American mothers who care for adult children with HIV. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 12(3), 193-202. Bradley, J. (1998). Discussions about end of life care in nursing homes. Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 46, 1235-1241. Braun, K.L., Pietsch, J.H., & Blanchette, P.L. (2000). Cultural issues in end of life decision making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Breslin, R. (1993). Understanding culture’s influence on behavior. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace. Caralis, P.V., Davis, B., Wright, K., & Marcial, E. (1993). The influence of ethnicity and race on attitudes toward advance directives, life-prolonging treatments, and euthanasia. Journal of Clinical Ethics, 4, 155-65. Christakis, N.A. (2001). Death Foretold. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Ersek, M., Kagawa-Singer, M., & Barnes, D. et al (1998). Multicultural considerations in the use of advance directives. Oncology Nursing Forum, 25, 1683-1690. Fukaura, A., Tazawa, H., Nakajima, H., & Adachi, M. (1995). Do not resuscitate orders at a teaching hospital in Japan. New England Journal of Medicine, 333, 805-8. Haley, W.E., LaMonde, L.A., Han, B., Narramore, S., & Schonwetter, R. (2001). Family caregiving in hospice: Effects on psychological and health functioning in spousal caregivers for patients with lung cancer or dementia. The Hospice Journal, 15, 1-18. Hern, H.E., Koenig, B.A., Moore, L.J. & Marshall P.A. (1998). The difference that culture can make in end-of-life decision making.Cambridge Quarterly Healthcare Ethics, 7, 27-40. Lawrence, P. & Rozmus, C. (2001). Culturally sensitive care of the Muslim patients. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 12(3), 228-233. Mouton, C.P. (2000). Cultural and religious issues for African Americans. In Braun, K.L., Pietsch, J.H., Blanchette, P.L. (2000).Cultural issues in end of life decision making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Murphy, S.T., Blackhall, L.J., Michel, V., & Azen, S.P. (1995). Ethnicity and attitudes toward patient autonomy. JAMA, 274, 820-5. Phipps, E., True, G., & Pomerantz, S. ( 2000). Approaches to End of Life Care in Culturally Diverse Communities. [On-line]. Sullivan, M.C. (2000). Lost in translation: How Latinos view end-of-life care. Last Acts: Care and Caring near the end of life. [On-line]. pp 4-5. Tulsky, J.A., Fischer, G.S., Rose, M.R., & Arnold, R.M. (1998). Opening the black box: How do physicians communicate about advance directives. Annals of Internal Medicine 129(8), 441-9. Weitzner, M., Haley, W.E., & Chen, H. (2000). The family caregiver of the oldercancer patient. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America, 14, 269 – 281.