I think a great disservice is done when physicians put an actual number on how long a person has to live. We cannot be that specific. We cannot know six months, one year, or any exact number. The closest we can come is to generally advise whether someone is in the ballpark of years, months, or weeks. When they are nearer to death, we may be able to say they have days or hours.
Here is an example of the harm done by giving specific numbers. This is just one example — I could tell you many. A woman was told by her oncologist that if she did not have radiation for her lung cancer, she would be dead in six months. She chose not to have the radiation. When the sixth month arrived, she expected to die. During that entire month, she worried and thought she would die at any moment. It was not until the beginning of the seventh month that she began to relax and stop expecting death at any moment. She lived eighteen months.
I could tell you all kinds of stories, but you get the point I am making.
Not knowing the signs of approaching death, we believe what we see on television or in the movies. We accept that we will be alert, then be in bed, and die. We believe every word our physician tells us — they are the experts. With our physical challenges and our bodies not behaving normally, we are vulnerable and scared. Our physician becomes our savior. We believe them.
If we had knowledge of the end of life, which most of us don’t, we would be better prepared to face and cope with this final life experience.
What I want people to know is that dying a gradual death from illness is not like the movies. Dying a gradual, disease-related death has a process to it. There are signs that death is coming — signs that can alert us to a time frame of months, weeks, days, or hours. But that is the closest the medical community can come.s
Something more…
In my End of Life Guideline Series, I explain the natural stages of dying and the signs that tell us whether death may be months, weeks, days, or hours away. These small booklets help families and caregivers understand what is happening and how to respond with confidence from diagnosis to the grieving process.
5 comments
Julia Greer
I had the encounter with a palliative care physician who at time was involved in my husband’s care when he was hospitalized for six weeks. He was diagnosed in January of 2025 with Cerebal Amyaloid Angiopathy. He was released to go home. Six months later he returned with focalized seizures and was told by the palliative care Dr. and Neurologist that he would be expected to die in six months. He past exactly the sixth month. Could that accuracy be because of his diagnosis?
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BK Books replied:
Hi Julia, I’m sorry I don’t have an answer to your question on the timing of death.
Blessing! Barbara
I had the encounter with a palliative care physician who at time was involved in my husband’s care when he was hospitalized for six weeks. He was diagnosed in January of 2025 with Cerebal Amyaloid Angiopathy. He was released to go home. Six months later he returned with focalized seizures and was told by the palliative care Dr. and Neurologist that he would be expected to die in six months. He past exactly the sixth month. Could that accuracy be because of his diagnosis?
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BK Books replied:
Hi Julia, I’m sorry I don’t have an answer to your question on the timing of death.
Blessing! Barbara
Nina
Doctors told my mom she would die from breast cancer in less than a week. I panicked and was ready to put her on hospice. Dear Momma lived 3 more years. Was it hard? You bet. Did she do all she wanted? Yes. Lots of love, laughs and smiles were shared. The journey of the human soul is a curious thing, and I believe that we can be very sick, she prayed and wanted more time with us, and she did it. Never underestimate the power of the heart and souls purpose!
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-05-02 11:33, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Nina, Yes, your mom is a perfect example of why we don’t put a number on how long someone has to live. There are too many variables. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
> - To > > post a response, reply and type above this line - > > YOU HAVE A NEW COMMENT FROM NINA > > Nina (tutoringforthespirit@gmail.com) wrote a comment about your blog > post Why Doctors Can’t Predict When Someone Will Die 1: > > “Doctors told my mom she would die from breast cancer in less than a > week. I panicked and was ready to put her on hospice. Dear Momma lived > 3 more years. Was it hard? You bet. Did she do all she wanted? Yes. > Lots of love, laughs and smiles were shared. The journey of the human > soul is a curious thing, and I believe that we can be very sick, she > prayed and wanted more time with us, and she did it. Never > underestimate the power of the heart and souls purpose!” > > Click here to approve: Approve 2 > > Click here to mark as spam: Spam 3 > > Replying to this email (above the line) will approve the comment and > post your response. > > - > > If the links aren’t working you can copy and paste these into your > browser: > > Approve: > https://www.sunnysideapps.com/comment-approved?comment_id=133844697344&domain_id=bfb66ee0-db55-48bb-a1e1-c739cf6c3346 > > Mark as spam: > https://www.sunnysideapps.com/comment-spam?comment_id=133844697344&domain_id=bfb66ee0-db55-48bb-a1e1-c739cf6c3346 > > Comment ID: 133844697344 > > From ☀️ Sunnyside Apps > > IDC133844697344 IDS246
Doctors told my mom she would die from breast cancer in less than a week. I panicked and was ready to put her on hospice. Dear Momma lived 3 more years. Was it hard? You bet. Did she do all she wanted? Yes. Lots of love, laughs and smiles were shared. The journey of the human soul is a curious thing, and I believe that we can be very sick, she prayed and wanted more time with us, and she did it. Never underestimate the power of the heart and souls purpose!
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-05-02 11:33, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Nina, Yes, your mom is a perfect example of why we don’t put a number on how long someone has to live. There are too many variables. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
> - To > > post a response, reply and type above this line - > > YOU HAVE A NEW COMMENT FROM NINA > > Nina (tutoringforthespirit@gmail.com) wrote a comment about your blog > post Why Doctors Can’t Predict When Someone Will Die 1: > > “Doctors told my mom she would die from breast cancer in less than a > week. I panicked and was ready to put her on hospice. Dear Momma lived > 3 more years. Was it hard? You bet. Did she do all she wanted? Yes. > Lots of love, laughs and smiles were shared. The journey of the human > soul is a curious thing, and I believe that we can be very sick, she > prayed and wanted more time with us, and she did it. Never > underestimate the power of the heart and souls purpose!” > > Click here to approve: Approve 2 > > Click here to mark as spam: Spam 3 > > Replying to this email (above the line) will approve the comment and > post your response. > > - > > If the links aren’t working you can copy and paste these into your > browser: > > Approve: > https://www.sunnysideapps.com/comment-approved?comment_id=133844697344&domain_id=bfb66ee0-db55-48bb-a1e1-c739cf6c3346 > > Mark as spam: > https://www.sunnysideapps.com/comment-spam?comment_id=133844697344&domain_id=bfb66ee0-db55-48bb-a1e1-c739cf6c3346 > > Comment ID: 133844697344 > > From ☀️ Sunnyside Apps > > IDC133844697344 IDS246
Janice Nightingale
I would like to see this in a pamphlet to hand out to our end-of-life clients and their families.
I would like to see this in a pamphlet to hand out to our end-of-life clients and their families.
Mary Joyce
I support MAID. If I should ever face a terminal diagnosis, I hope a physician will pronounce me as only having six months left as early in the disease progression as possible.
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-04-29 18:02, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Mary Joyce, I’m glad we have the option. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
>
I support MAID. If I should ever face a terminal diagnosis, I hope a physician will pronounce me as only having six months left as early in the disease progression as possible.
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-04-29 18:02, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Mary Joyce, I’m glad we have the option. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
>
Teresa
I have often encountered physicians overestimating how long before dying. It may be to soften the blow of terminal illness but it can have devastating consequences as well. while there’s never enough time when life is cut short, having a sense that there is more time than may be realistic can encourage putting things off, and crucial things may be left undone or unfinished, and that can be an unnecessary burden.
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-04-29 16:47, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Teresa, I agree. It is really a disservice to patients to not be as forthcoming as possible with patients. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
>
I have often encountered physicians overestimating how long before dying. It may be to soften the blow of terminal illness but it can have devastating consequences as well. while there’s never enough time when life is cut short, having a sense that there is more time than may be realistic can encourage putting things off, and crucial things may be left undone or unfinished, and that can be an unnecessary burden.
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BK Books replied:
On 2026-04-29 16:47, Sunny@comment.sunnysideapps.com
Hi Teresa, I agree. It is really a disservice to patients to not be as forthcoming as possible with patients. Blessings! Barbara
wrote:
>