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Jane Brody's Guide to the great beyond: a practical primer to help you and your loved ones prepare medically, legally, and emotionally for the end of life
Author
Publisher
Random House
Publication Date
c2009
Language
English
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Table of Contents
From the Book - 1st ed.
Preface
Prologue: End-of-Life Issues Are Not New for Me
Part 1. Get Ready Now For the Great Beyond
Chapter 1. Death Is Inevitable: So Be Prepared
Chapter 2. A Good Death: There's More Than One Right Way to Die
Accepting the Patient's Terms
When the Patient Is Prepared
When Death Is Sudden
Help from an Advance Directive
Even a Good Death Can Sting
What Most Patients and Families Want
Chapter 3. Advance Directives: A Living Will Is Not Enough
But Will Your Living Will Help?
Do You Really Mean "Do Not Resuscitate"?
An Improved Living Will
Box: Medical Living Will with Code Status Advance Directive
You Must Assign a Health Care Proxy
When Someone Refuses to Create an Advance Directive
Chapter 4. Funeral? Memorial? Why Plan Ahead for the End
Controlling the Costs
Warning: An Advance Purchase Can Backfire
Box: Back-to-Nature Burials
Planning a Service
Part 2. Charting a Course to the End of Life
Chapter 5. Uncertain Future: Living with a Bad Prognosis
Tell Me, Doc, How Much Time Have I Got?
The Value of Knowing Time Is Short
Talking the Talk
Doctors Need Help, Too
Chapter 6. Coma: When the Brain Is on Hold
Common Causes of Coma
A Confusion of States
Chapter 7. Living Well to the End: Where and How
Do You Really Want to Die at Home?
What IS Important? Control of Symptoms
Is There a Role for Feeding Tubes?
When Treatment Is Futile
Withholding and Withdrawing Life Support
When Someone Is Actively Dying
Chapter 8. Caregiving: Tending Someone at the End of Life
A Rewarding Experience
A Demanding Job
Relieving Symptoms
Managing Pain
Getting the Help You Need
Caring for the Caregiver
How to Know and What to do When the End Is Near
Respect Wishes for Privacy or Company
Chapter 9. Hospice and Palliative Care: Don't Wait Until It's Too Late
An Underused Resource
How Hospice Can Help
Many Wait Too Long to Enroll
Hospice Provides Palliative Care
Sources of Hospice Care
Box: A Hospice Doctor Finds Joy
Chapter 10. Spiritual Care: Lighten and Enlighten an End-of-Life Journey
Spirituality Versus Religiosity
Prepare Yourself Spiritually
What Family and Friends Can Do
What Doctors Can Do
Chapter 11. When a Child Is Dying: Surviving the Nightmare
Children Need and Deserve Comfort Care
Parents Can Help . . . and Need Help
What Parents Want from Doctors
Box: A Mother Recalls Her Baby's Last Day
Needs of a Dying Child
Easing the End of a Child's Life
When a Child Dies Suddenly
Continuing Care After a Child Dies
Chapter 12. What to Say: Conversations at the End of Life
Silence Is Not Golden
Create a Conducive Atmosphere
Gird Your Loins for Strong Feelings
What Is-and Is Not-Okay to Say
Doctors, Too, Must Know What to Say
Box: Improving Doctor-Patient Communication
What Patients and Families Want and Need
Box: Communicating with Hope
Chapter 13. Doctors Who Disappear: What Can Be Done About It
An All-Too-Common Experience
Why This Happens
What Patients and Families Can Do
Training Compassionate Doctors
Chapter 14. Assisted Dying: What to Consider When Illness Is Unbearable
Clarifying the Terms
Weighing the Options
Opting for a Patient-Controlled Death
Box: The Oregon Death with Dignity Act
Considerations if You or a Loved One Seeks a Hastened Death
Box: If You Are a Physician
Chapter 15. Grief: It's Not a Disease
No "Right Way" to Grieve
Anticipatory Grief
Common Symptoms of Grief
What Many Find Helpful
When Grief Is "Complicated"
Can a Support Group Help?
Preserving Memories
What to Say When Someone Dies
What you Can Do to Help the Bereaved
Part 3. Life After Death: What You Leave Behind Counts
Chapter 16. Organ and Body Donations: A Gift of Life
A Need Unmet
Misconceptions Abound
Donation Following Cardiac Death
Age and Health Are Not Limiting Factors
Whole Body Donation
Box: Your Wishes About Organ and Tissue Donation
Chapter 17. Autopsy: Valuable Lessons from the Dead
A Difficult Decision
Many Benefits of Autopsy
Chapter 18. Lasting Legacies: Leave Memories and Life Lessons
Legacies to Treasure
Overcome Your Resistance
Epilogue: From the Start Consider the Finish
Acknowledgments
Index
Illustration and Permission Credits
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ISBN
9781400066544
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