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Summary
Planning for the end of life can be difficult. But by deciding what end-of-life care best suits your needs when you are healthy, you can help those close to you make the right choices when the time comes.
End-of-life planning usually includes making choices about the following:
- The goals of care (for example, whether to use certain medicines during the last days of life)
- Where you want to spend your final days
- Which treatments for end-of-life care you wish to receive
- What type of palliative care and hospice care you wish to receive
Advance directives can help make your wishes clear to your family and health care providers.
- Advanced Illness: Holding on and Letting Go (Family Caregiver Alliance)
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End of Life
(National Institute on Aging)
- End of Life (Supporting a Terminally Ill Loved One) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
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End-of-Life Care for People Who Have Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
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Last Days of Life (PDQ)
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
- Nearing the End of Life (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
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Providing Care and Comfort at the End of Life
(National Institute on Aging)
Related Issues
- COVID-19: Funeral Guidance for Individuals and Families (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Culturally Diverse Communities and End-of-Life Care (American Psychological Association) - PDF
- How to Talk About End-of-Life Decisions (American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Living Well with a Serious Illness: Talking with Your Doctor When the Future Is Uncertain (American College of Physicians) - PDF
- Planning Your Own Funeral (Federal Trade Commission) Also in Spanish
- Shopping for Funeral Services (Federal Trade Commission) Also in Spanish
-
Things to Do After Someone Dies
(National Institute on Aging)
- Types of Funerals (Federal Trade Commission) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Advanced Illness: Feeding Tubes and Ventilators (Family Caregiver Alliance) Also in Spanish
- Artificial Hydration and Nutrition (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
-
Coping with Advanced Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
- End of Life Care (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
- End of Life: Caring for Someone Who Is Dying (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-
End-of-Life Care for People with Dementia
(National Institute on Aging)
Also in Spanish
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Understanding Health Care Decisions (at the End of Life)
(National Institute on Aging)
Also in Spanish
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What Happens When Someone Dies?
(National Institute on Aging)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Terminal Care
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Patient Handouts
- Deciding about treatments that prolong life (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Do not resuscitate orders (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Palliative care - what the final days are like (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish