Aggressive Medical Care Remains Common at Life’s End

Most older cancer patients received invasive care in the last month of their lives, a new study finds. That may not be what they wanted.

#cancer, #death-and-dying, #elder-care, #elderly, #hospice-care, #hospitals, #jama-network-open, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies, #nursing-homes

How Does Hospice Care Work?

Hospice offers crucial end-of-life care with a focus on the patient’s comfort and dignity. Experts explain who is eligible, what it entails and how to understand and navigate the process.

#carter-jimmy, #death-and-dying, #elder-care, #hospice-care

How to Make a Caregiving Plan (So It’s Ready When You Need It)

Talking about aging and illness can be difficult, but experts have tips for getting started.

#content-type-service, #death-and-dying, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies

The Romance Novelist Who Faked Her Own Death

Now how’s that for a plot twist?

#amazon-com-inc, #book-trade-and-publishing, #books-and-literature, #death-and-dying, #goodreads-inc, #harpercollins-publishers, #hoover-colleen-1979, #labor-and-jobs, #mergers-acquisitions-and-divestitures, #miller-laura-author, #random-house, #rumors-and-misinformation, #simonschuster-inc, #wolf-naomi, #writing-and-writers

Ryazan, Home of Elite Russian Unit, Still Supports Ukraine War

Ryazan, not far from Moscow, regularly sends young men off to fight. Some are now buried in the local cemetery, but there is no surge of outrage against Russian leaders.

#cemeteries, #death-and-dying, #defense-and-military-forces, #drones-pilotless-planes, #international-relations, #military-bases-and-installations, #politics-and-government, #polls-and-public-opinion, #propaganda, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ryazan-russia, #ukraine

Why You Should Record a Family Member’s Voice This Holiday Season

You can create an audio time capsule with anyone you love.

#death-and-dying, #gifts, #internal-sub-only-nl, #memory, #voice-and-speech

She Preached Death Without Fear. Could She Practice It?

Shatzi Weisberger spent years urging others to approach the process of dying with joy and wonder. Then she got cancer.

#content-type-personal-profile, #death-and-dying, #elder-care, #funerals-and-memorials, #hospice-care, #internal-sub-only, #pancreatic-cancer, #upper-west-side-manhattan-ny, #weisberger-shatzi-1930-2022

A Machine Kept Our Patient Alive, but She Couldn’t Stay on Forever, Right?

Even lifesaving treatments come to an end.

#death-and-dying, #ecmo-extracorporeal-membrane-oxygenation, #ethics-and-official-misconduct, #life-sustaining-support-systems-withdrawal-of, #lungs, #medical-devices

The Immensity of Seoul’s Sadness

The deaths at the Halloween celebration were the second mass tragedy to befall that generation.

#death-and-dying, #halloween, #park-geun-hye, #seoul-south-korea, #seoul-halloween-stampede-2022, #south-korea, #yoon-suk-yeol

The Fading Art of Preserving the Dead

A dwindling group of professionals is tasked with navigating the often fraught passage from life to death.

#asbury-park-nj, #atacama-desert, #cremation, #death-and-dying, #embalming, #formaldehyde, #funerals-and-memorials, #internal-sub-only, #mitford-jessica, #morgues-and-mortuaries, #mummies-and-mummification, #national-funeral-directors-assn, #the-american-way-of-death-book, #united-states, #your-feed-health, #your-feed-science

What My Father’s Death Taught Me About Living

The most precious thing my dad gave me was an example of how to live a life devoid of cynicism and pessimism.

#death-and-dying, #families-and-family-life

French Feminist Rabbi Captivates Multifaith Crowds With Musings on Mortality

With Paris locked down over Passover, a rabbi started holding weekly talks over Zoom about Jewish texts. Thousands have tuned in to hear her reflections on death. “She is my rabbi,” said an atheist.

#content-type-personal-profile, #death-and-dying, #horvilleur-delphine, #jews-and-judaism, #paris-france, #quarantine-life-and-culture, #rabbis, #religion-and-belief, #videophones-and-videoconferencing

What John Donne Knew About Death Can Teach Us a Lot About Life

He thought humans a disaster, the most spectacular disaster there has ever been.

#death-and-dying, #john-donne, #poetry-and-poets

Gorbachev’s Funeral Begins in Moscow, With Putin Conspicuously Absent

Befitting his legacy, the ceremony for Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, avoided the aplomb of a grand state occasion.

#cold-war-era, #death-and-dying, #funerals-and-memorials, #gorbachev-mikhail-s, #moscow-russia, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine, #ussr-former-soviet-union, #war-and-armed-conflicts

I’m a Ukrainian Soldier, and I’ve Accepted My Death

So it must be for those who tread the path of war.

#chernobyl-ukraine, #death-and-dying, #deaths-fatalities, #donbas-ukraine, #kyiv-ukraine, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Archie Battersbee, Gravely Ill 12-Year-Old, Dies After Removal of Life Support

The boy’s family had made several legal appeals to keep him on a ventilator, but judges in Britain sided with doctors in finding that he had no hope of recovery.

#battersbee-archie, #children-and-childhood, #coma, #death-and-dying, #decisions-and-verdicts, #essex-england, #evans-alfie, #families-and-family-life, #gard-charlie-2016, #great-britain, #life-sustaining-support-systems-withdrawal-of, #parenting

Could I Forgive Him One Last Time?

When her ex-husband became terminally ill, she had a difficult choice to make. Over a decade later, her decision still resonates.

#death-and-dying, #families-and-family-life, #love-emotion, #parenting

The Life and Death of Daniel Auster, a Son of Literary Brooklyn

Memorably depicted in his father’s books, he struggled with drug addiction through a life that put him close to a notorious murder and came to an end in a family tragedy.

#auster-daniel-1977-2022, #auster-paul, #auster-ruby-2021-21, #babies-and-infants, #davis-lydia, #death-and-dying, #drug-abuse-and-traffic, #hustvedt-siri, #limelight-manhattan-ny-nightclub

A Million Americans Have Died From Covid. We Need to Mourn Together.

The magnitude of the loss is overwhelming. Every person who died represents a community, a family or a group of friends who will never be the same.

#coronavirus-2019-ncov, #death-and-dying, #funerals-and-memorials, #grief-emotion, #internal-sub-only-nl

One Man’s Choice to Be Cremated Under the Open Sky

A small Colorado town maintains the country’s only public outdoor funeral pyre. Philip Incao saw it as his own perfect ending.

#colorado, #cremation, #death-and-dying, #funerals-and-memorials, #steiner-rudolf

One Million

The number of known deaths from Covid-19 in the United States will soon reach one million. Listeners reflect on the lives lost.

#audio-negative-tragedy, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #death-and-dying, #united-states, #vaccination-and-immunization

When Hope Hinges on an Unapproved Drug

The limits of expanded access to experimental drugs.

#clinical-trials, #death-and-dying, #drugs-pharmaceuticals

Books About Death and Grief Can Bring Hope

The saddest stories can show us how full of grace the fallen world can be.

#books-and-literature, #death-and-dying, #friendship, #grief-emotion, #love-emotion, #what-we-wish-were-true-book, #writing-and-writers

Oregon Ends Residency Requirement for Medically Assisted Deaths

In resolution of a federal lawsuit, state health authorities agreed on Monday to stop enforcing the residency requirement and to ask the Legislature to remove it from the law.

#columbia-river-pacific-northwest, #compassionchoices, #death-and-dying, #euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide, #national-suicide-prevention-lifeline, #oregon, #suits-and-litigation-civil

In Difficult Cases, ‘Families Cannot Manage Death at Home’

Health care researchers argue that hospice facilities could better serve some terminal patients, and ease the burden on exhausted loved ones.

#death-and-dying, #elderly, #hospice-care, #medicare, #united-states, #warraich-haider-j, #your-feed-health, #your-feed-science

Modern Love Podcast: A Mother’s Wild, Extravagant Love

She couldn’t be physically present for her daughter’s life. But she found a way to be there, still.

#dating-and-relationships, #death-and-dying, #gifts, #grief-emotion, #love-emotion

This Memoir About the Contradictions of Grief Plays by Its Own Rules

The novelist Kathryn Davis’s personal and time-shuffling new book, “Aurelia, Aurélia,” is about the death of her husband.

#aurelia-aurelia-book, #books-and-literature, #content-type-personal-profile, #davis-kathryn, #death-and-dying

Ash Wednesday and the Hope It Offers

The pandemic has challenged any expectation that we can control our lives and be rescued from loss.

#cemeteries, #christians-and-christianity, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #death-and-dying, #internal-sub-only-nl, #prayers-and-prayer-books

The I.C.U. Patient, and the Family

Exploring the dilemmas involving patients, their families and health care providers in end-of-life care. Also: Quotation marks; calling and driving.

#death-and-dying, #drunken-and-reckless-driving, #english-language, #hospitals, #medicine-and-health

Death Changed My Life

I see now that life is a series of peaks and valleys, and it is a fool’s errand to try to flatten them out.

#death-and-dying, #families-and-family-life, #medicine-and-health, #mental-health-and-disorders, #psychology-and-psychologists, #social-conditions-and-trends

Tough Decisions About End-of-Life Care

Readers offer personal stories in response to a doctor’s guest essay about advance directives.

#death-and-dying, #elderly, #health-insurance-and-managed-care, #hospice-care, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies

How Families Can Navigate the I.C.U.

A new book offers guidance on how family members can support a critically ill loved one who ends up in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

#death-and-dying, #families-and-family-life, #hospitals, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies, #post-traumatic-stress-disorder

Notes From the End of a Very Long Life by New York’s Oldest

With the death of Ruth Willig at 98, a Times series on a set of the oldest New Yorkers — chronicled over seven years in 21 articles — offers their lessons on living with loss.

#content-type-personal-profile, #death-and-dying, #elder-care, #elderly, #longevity, #mekas-jonas, #moses-helen-1924, #new-york-city, #willig-ruth-1923

When Faced With Death, People Often Change Their Minds

Do advance directives by healthy people actually deliver better care?

#death-and-dying, #hospitals, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies

The Artists We Lost in 2021, in Their Words

Some artists held the spotlight for generations. Others left us lamenting careers cut short. Here is a tribute to those we lost this year.

#abloh-virgil, #actors-and-actresses, #adnan-etel, #allen-joseph-c-1933, #asner-ed, #avian-bob, #banes-lisa, #carle-eric, #cleary-beverly, #culture-arts, #death-and-dying, #dmx, #dodgion-dottie-1929-2021, #downey-robert-sr, #dukakis-olympia, #floyd-carlisle, #fracci-carla, #gensler-art-1935-2021, #grodin-charles, #hickey-dave, #hooks-bell, #leachman-cloris, #liu-hung, #lopez-yolanda-1942-2021, #macdonald-norm, #mccrory-helen, #mcmurtry-larry, #music, #plummer-christopher, #scarlett-liam, #sondheim-stephen, #two-thousand-twenty-one, #tyson-cicely, #upson-kaari-1972, #van-peebles-melvin, #walter-jessica, #williams-michael-kenneth, #writing-and-writers, #young-dolph-1985-2021

A 3-D Printed Pod Inflames the Assisted Suicide Debate

The pod, known as Sarco, was conceived as a way for people to end their lives without involving a doctor. A plan to introduce it in Switzerland has raised alarm even among right-to-die advocates.

#3-d-devices-and-effects, #death-and-dying, #ethics-and-official-misconduct, #euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide, #museums, #nitschke-philip, #switzerland

What if There’s No Such Thing as Closure?

Many of us are taught that if we work hard enough we’ll be able to get over our losses. The social scientist Pauline Boss sees it differently.

#black-lives-matter-movement, #black-people, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #death-and-dying, #george-floyd-protests-2020, #grief-emotion, #university-of-minnesota

They Died From Covid. Then the Online Attacks Started.

The social media profiles of anti-vaccine victims of the pandemic have made them and their families targets of trolling, even after their deaths.

#coronavirus-2019-ncov, #death-and-dying, #grief-emotion, #reddit-inc, #rumors-and-misinformation, #social-media, #vaccination-and-immunization

Is Truth the Best Medicine for Dying Patients?

Readers react to a doctor’s essay about regretting her honesty with a dying man.

#death-and-dying, #doctors, #hospice-care, #medicine-and-health

Short on Staff, Some Hospices Ask New Patients To Wait

“It causes huge distress to tell a family, ‘We can’t serve you,’” said one state hospice organization director.

#death-and-dying, #elder-care, #elderly, #home-health-care, #hospice-care, #labor-and-jobs, #national-hospice-and-palliative-care-organization, #nursing-and-nurses, #shortages, #your-feed-health, #your-feed-science

Why a Patient in Denial Is So Tough for Doctors

Why a patient in denial is such a challenge for doctors.

#death-and-dying, #doctors, #medical-ethics

The Dead Get a Do-Over

In a flurry of streaming television shows, the departed get a second chance. And viewers find an outlet for sorrow and remorse.

#death-and-dying, #grief-emotion, #manifest-tv-program, #quarantine-life-and-culture, #television

On Death Row in Texas, a Last Request: A Prayer and ‘Human Contact’

Scheduled for execution on Sept. 8, John Henry Ramirez is suing to have his Baptist pastor lay hands on him as he dies.

#capital-punishment, #chaplains, #death-and-dying, #murders-attempted-murders-and-homicides, #prisons-and-prisoners, #religion-and-belief, #texas

The Sunday Read: ‘How Long Can We Live?’

New research is intensifying the life span debate — with profound implications for the future of the planet.

#age-chronological, #audio-neutral-informative, #death-and-dying, #medicine-and-health, #science-and-technology

One Thing I Don’t Plan to Do Before I Die Is Make a Bucket List

Until my cancer diagnosis, I did not understand that one future comes at the exclusion of all others.

#canadian-football-league, #cancer, #death-and-dying, #families-and-family-life, #pilgrimages, #restoration-and-renovation, #travel-and-vacations

What I’ve Learned Over a Lifetime of Caring for the Dying

As a doctor who cares for the dying, I know that direct-care aides are invaluable to patients and their families. We need to honor the work they do.

#death-and-dying, #health-insurance-and-managed-care, #home-health-care, #hospice-care, #nursing-homes

Cryonics During the Pandemic

The business of cryopreservation — storing bodies at deep freeze until well into the future — got a whole lot more complicated during the pandemic.

#china, #coronavirus-2019-ncov, #cryonics, #death-and-dying, #russia, #scottsdale-ariz

‘Death Doulas’ Provide Aid at the End of Life

End-of-life doulas support people emotionally, physically, spiritually and practically: sitting vigil, giving hand massages, making snacks.

#death-and-dying, #grief-emotion, #living-wills-and-health-care-proxies, #midwives-and-doulas, #university-of-vermont

Palliative Care in the ICU: What to Know About Time-Limited Trials

Time-limited trials offer I.C.U. patients and their families a sense of empowerment in the face of low odds.

#death-and-dying, #dialysis, #hospice-care, #hospitals, #life-sustaining-support-systems-withdrawal-of, #your-feed-health, #your-feed-healthcare, #your-feed-science

How Losing a Pet Can Make You Stronger

The process of acceptance and letting go builds the resilience necessary to navigate an array of life’s obstacles.

#death-and-dying, #grief-emotion, #love-emotion, #pets, #psychology-and-psychologists