Warnings on medications, treatments, procedures, copyright: Read this file before proceeding
Home Page: Terminal Illness
Introduction & Negotiating the Health Care System: Dangerous Ground: Introduction, being a "good patient," taking charge of yourself and your care, sources of information, working with the system (power, knowledge, persistence, creativity)
Community Services: Services, hospice & palliative care, home health care, evaluating agencies, other services
Individual Issues and Problems: Process of terminal illness, hope, grief, loneliness, anger, anxiety, spiritual distress, positives
Family Issues and Problems: Grief & loss, isolation, feelings of uselessness, depression, anger & conflict, anxiety, sexual issues, caregiver fatigue, organizing the care
Children: How children view dying & death, telling, supporting
Grief: Characteristics/process, what to do (telling "death story," sadness, "negative" feelings, reviewing the relationship, possibilities in life, understanding & acceptance)
Pain: Understanding, assessing, & managing pain (general principle, specific pain syndromes, medications, other measures)
Neurological problems: Confusion, seizures, motor & sensory deficits, increased intracranial pressure, spinal cord compression, other
Respiratory & cardiac problems: Dyspnea/difficulty breathing, cough, hemoptysis/blood in sputum, cardiac problems (of cancer)
Oral problems: Preventing problems, infections, stomatitis, ulcers, dry mouth, taste changes
Gastrointestinal (GI) Problems: Problems swallowing (dysphagia), nausea, vomiting, appetite loss (anorexia), weight loss (cachexia), constipation, diarrhea, incontinence, and bowel obstruction
Genitourinary (GU) problems: Incontinence, catheter care, infection, obstruction, blood in the urine, and sexual issues
Skin: Decubitus ulcers (bed sores), malignant ulcers, fistulas, fungating tumors, itching ( pruritus), infections, skin problems from cancer treatment, and paraneoplastic syndromes
Fatigue and Sleep Problems
Imminent Death: The process of dying, process and care during the last days: loss of appetite, decreased fluid intake, dreams, coma and changes in consciousness, symptoms before and after changes in consciousness, coma care, after death occurs
Medications: Draft - incomplete - Organizing and tracking the medications, common side effects, giving medications
Bedfast Care: Problems, creativity, changing an occupied bed, preventing problems, positioning, skin care, bathing, range of motion exercises
Links to sites focusing on practical information for patients and families