Just as there was once a beginning, there is a day that comes that is an end of life. At the end of life, what we all want is to go in peace. Not in pain, not in turmoil. The "fight" against cancer is over when you say it is. When you feel that you have fought the "good fight" and have reached the point where enough is enough, then it is your right to rest. Just as it is your right to fight until the very end as long as you choose to fight. CCNetwork has provided the links below to help you find answers and resources as you cope with the end of life. Usually there are still so many unanswered questions when you reach this point. These are just some of the major questions. To the first three, the answer is do what brings you peace. Frantic action will not help and may waste time that you could share with those you love. Determined actions that are decided upon carefully and peacefully will help you find the "right" answer for your situation. To the last question, there is no answer to it. The spectrum is great. Some die quickly and unexpectedly. Some slowly waste away as their body begins to shut down. And there is no test to determine where any one person falls in that spectrum. The primary thing is to not do anything that would do more harm. Simple things like keeping well hydrated will make it easier on your body. Dehydration is a terrible thing. If there are questions you need us to address on our website please e-mail us (CCNetwork@colorectal-cancer.net) and let us know. If there is a particular resource that you don't find here and need help with then please call (301-879-1500) or e-mail us. Know that as long as you continue to ask, the Network will be there to support and assist you in finding the resources and information and connections with others that you are looking for. |
Palliative care "Palliative care is the active, total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of psychological, social and spiritual problems is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best possible quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of illness, in conjunction with anti-cancer treatment. Palliative Care:
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ACP Home Care Guide |
The American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM) is the nation's largest medical specialty society. Its mission is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine. |
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ACP Home Care Guide |
This guide is for the family, friends, and hospice workers caring for those patients with advanced cancer who are living at home. It provides the information they need to deal with caregiving problems while working cooperatively with a team of health professionals, such as nurses, physicians, and social workers who are members of a hospice, home health, or oncology care team. The book is written for use in "palliative care," in which the primary goal of treatment has shifted from extending the patient's life to ensuring the best possible quality of life. |
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ACP Home Care Guide |
How To Help During the Final Weeks of Life |
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PARTNERSHIP FOR CARING: AMERICA'S VOICES FOR THE DYING |
PARTNERSHIP FOR CARING: AMERICA'S VOICES FOR THE DYING is a national nonprofit organization that partners individuals and organizations in a powerful collaboration to improve how people die in our society. Among other services, Partnership for Caring operates the only national crisis and informational hotline dealing with end-of-life issues and provides state-specific living wills and medical powers of attorney. |
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Last Acts |
Last Acts is a call-to-action campaign to improve care at the end of life. Our goals are to bring death related issues out in the open and help individuals and organizations pursue better ways to care for the dying. We believe in palliative care, which focuses on ways to ease pain and make life better for people who are dying and their loved ones. Palliative care means taking care of the whole person--body, mind, spirit--heart and soul. It looks at death and dying as something natural and personal. The goal of palliative care is to provide the best quality of life till the very end of life. |
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Cancer Care's Section on End of Life and Bereavement 1 800 813 HOPE (4673) Cancer Care, Inc • National Office 275 7th Ave. New York, NY 10001 Website: http://www.cancercare.org E-mail: info@cancercare.org |
Spearheaded by the hospice movement and advancements in medical technology, the concept of death in America has changed dramatically within the last twenty years. People are living longer with chronic illnesses and beginning to question how they want to live, and when appropriate, how to die with dignity |
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GriefNet Website: http://griefnet.org/ E-mail: |
GriefNet is an Internet community of persons dealing with grief, death, and major loss. We have 37 email support groups and two web sites. Our integrated approach to on line grief support provides help to people working through loss and grief issues of all kinds. Our companion site, KIDSAID, provides a safe environment for kids and their parents to find information and ask questions. |
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Growth House, Inc 415-255-9045 Website: http://www.growthhouse.org E-mail: info@growthhouse.org |
Our primary mission is to improve the quality of compassionate care for people who are dying through public education and global professional collaboration. |
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Willowgreen 219-490-2222 10351 Dawson's Creek Boulevard Suite B Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Website: http://www.willowgreen.com/ E-mail: jmiller@willowgreen.com |
Willowgreen is a leading provider of information and inspiration in the areas of illness and dying, loss and grief, healthy caregiving, life transition, and spirituality. |
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Address Guardian 866-842-4651 P.O. Box 472244 Charlotte, NC 28247 Website: http://www.addressguardian.com/ E-mail: jveilleux@addressguardian.com |
Address Guardian is dedicated to the elimination of direct marketing to the deceased. By registering with us, you can help eliminate this invasion of privacy for millions of American families. |
http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/integral/garden.htm
Death is not the enemy of life, but its friend, for it is the knowledge that our years are limited which makes them so precious. It is the truth that time is but lent to us which makes us, at our best, look upon our years as a trust handed out into our temporary keeping.
We are like children privileged to spend a day in a great park, a park filled with many gardens and playgrounds and azure-tinted lakes with white boats sailing upon the tranquil waves.
True, the day allotted to each one of us is not the same in length, in light, in beauty. Some children of earth are privileged to spend a long and sunlit day in the garden of the earth. For others the day is shorter, cloudier, and dusk descends more quickly as in a winter's tale.
But whether our life is a long summery day or a shorter wintery afternoon, we know that inevitably there are storms and squalls which overcast even the bluest heaven and there are sunlit rays which pierce the darkest autumn sky.
The day that we are privileged to spend in the great park of life is not the same for all human beings, but there is enough beauty and joy and gaiety in the hours, if we will but treasure them