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Final Decisions Taking ActionYou can help to make sure that the best possible end-of-life care is available for yourself and your loved ones, and you can make a difference in a variety of ways from having a conversation with a family member to advocating for improvements in the healthcare system. Here are a few of the ways you can get involved. 1. Learn more about the options that are available in end-of-life care. Books such as Surviving Death by Charles Meyer, Dying Well by Ira Byock, M.D., and A Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness by Joanne Lynn, M.D. and Joan Harrold, M.D., are excellent starting points for finding out more about end-of-life care. The Web sites of Last Acts (www.lastacts.org), Americans for Better Care of the Dying (www.abcd-caring.org), and The Project on Death in America (www.soros.org/death/) provide much more information. 2. Start a conversation with a family member about dying. Talk with an intimate about your choices for medical care, and discuss the quality of life you want in your last months. Sacramento Healthcare Decisions () has published a helpful booklet called Finding Your Way: A Guide for End-of-Life Medical Decisions. 3. Draw up a living will or an advance directive. Discuss this with your doctor, or find someone who will be your advocate. These steps can ensure that your wishes guide your treatment. Gundersen Lutherans Programs for Improving End-of-Life Care (, ext. 5279) offers an information packet called Respecting Your Choices that includes tools for completing advance directives. For state-specific advance directive forms, contact Partnership for Caring: Americas Voices for the 4. Before it is too late, ask a family member or friend to tell you about memorable events in his or her life. Retelling life stories and documenting them in writing or on tape can be important for both dying people and their loved ones. The Hospice Foundation of America () offers a publication called A Guide for Recalling and Telling Your Life Story. 5. Visit a sick or dying friend, offer to give a family caregiver some time to rest, or volunteer to spend an hour or two each week helping a seriously ill person. Organizations such as the National Federation of Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers () can provide information about opportunities for volunteering in your community. 6. If you are grieving or bereaved, there are a number of organizations that can help with information and resources on finding support. For resources on grief and bereavement, contact Growth House ( or at www.growthhouse.org). Reprinted by permission from the ON OUR OWN TERMS Discussion Guide. Copyright 2000 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Public Affairs Television.
Taking Action |