Supporting the person with terminal illness : focus on care rather than cure

Abstract

For the terminally ill person, his family, friends and carers, decisions about the use of life-sustaining treatment may cause profound consequences. These decisions will, to some extent, hasten or forestall the period of the person's life. They will also shape the dying person's experience and perception of the remaining life - where and with whom he lives, and in what comfort or suffering he lives. Terminal care means looking after any dying person in the last moments of life. During this time the sick person will, in all probability, experience varying degrees of pain, guilt feelings, anxieties and loneliness. The primary goals are to relieve pain and suffering, to support the dying person's function in so far as to ensure the best quality of the remaining life as possible. It is important that one keeps in mind that the main objective for terminally ill people is to live with the sickness. And not merely exist until they die. The suffering of the terminally ill person can result not only from physical causes but also from emotional, social and spiritual ones. Total care requires professionals who pay attention to all these potential origins of distress. [...]