Something to Think About

It is my hope that people will read “Gone From My Sight,” “The Eleventh Hour” and watch “New Rules for End of Life Care” so that their experience will be...

QUESTION: You say people can see and interact with those who have died before us as they, themselves, lay dying. How about if a person is not dying, can they...

There are pros and cons to telling a person they can’t be fixed. I've touched on some of them. I don't know the "right" answer. I do know that we...

Question: What about dying and coming to peace? A lot has been talked about people accepting and “coming to terms” with their approaching death. Even Elizabeth Kubler-Ross talked about acceptance...

QUESTION: Please address the need for closure by medical professionals who work with end of life. I began working in hospice with the personal belief that death was not bad,...

Question: How to talk to Doctors about the benefits of hospice and speaking to their patients early enough so that they can get all the benefits hospice offers. This is...

Question: Talk about coping over the years after the loss of a child. I can’t think of a greater loss than the death of a child. Children are our legacy...

QUESTION: How long can a body sustain without food and only take in nutritional liquid supplements? Because there are many influencing factors my answer won’t be definitive but I can...

QUESTION: I wonder if you have any insight on Compassion Fatigue within Hospice staff? Wikipedia states: “Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress (STS), is a condition characterized by...

Dear Barbara, My sister-in-law has intestinal and liver cancer and was recently denied Hospice care/services. The reason given was that she has a port to a vein in her arm....

QUESTIONS: Suicide Obviously this is a very big subject and I can’t begin to cover it so I will just address suicide in relation to end of life issues. I've...

I received an email from a woman I have been corresponding with for a year or so. She is struggling with caring for her mother in law, in her home,...

Questions Concerning Grief What are some of the feelings that a spouse expresses after their husband or wife passes? At first, most are just numb: they cry and are surprised...

A patient/family support person. A trained volunteer is assigned to a specific hospice family to be a friend: a presence in their life during a time of great emotional upheaval...

Question: What is a Hospice House? In England during the 1970’s, where the hospice model originated, hospice care was provided not in a person’s home but in a freestanding building...

QUESTION: Talk about denial. All of us deny the realities of life to some degree. The operative words here are “to some degree.” Some of us rely on denial more...

Question: What are your ideas for supporting and learning from other members of the hospice team? Life today seems so hectic. We are balancing career, family, social and often civic...

“Therapy” was put in the “What to talk about” section of this web site. I am not sure of the meaning of this request. There are many kinds of therapy:...

QUESTION: Do dementia patients have fears different from the rest of the community? (Included with the question submitted to BKB): Response from the Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Support Forum FTD Response:...

Question? Anger at the dying loved one for things you feel she could have done that would have kept her healthy longer. Anger that she feels back at you for...

Question: I wanted to know more about your thoughts in regards to the role of Social Work in Hospice care including bereavement services. An interesting question since over the years...