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Changing the Way We Die

Compassionate end-of-life care and the hospice movement

Neuroscience
What to Do When Life Is Short

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on April 8, 2015

Dual citizenship as a doctor and as a seriously ill patient had taught him that respectful communication is the bedrock of all medicine.

Dual citizenship as a doctor and as a seriously ill patient had taught him that respectful communication is the bedrock of all medicine.

Anxiety
Is Hospice Losing Its Soul?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on January 22, 2015

Hospice is moving into the health care mainstream. A longtime hospice nurse explains why that’s not the best place to comfort, care for, and honor the dying.

Hospice is moving into the health care mainstream. A longtime hospice nurse explains why that’s not the best place to comfort, care for, and honor the dying.

Sport and Competition
Why Writing Matters

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on January 15, 2015

At the end of life, people sometimes find time and focus to do things they've always wanted to do. Often, surprisingly, it's writing.

At the end of life, people sometimes find time and focus to do things they've always wanted to do. Often, surprisingly, it's writing.

Empathy
Doctors Writing Poetry

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on September 11, 2014

What's with all the doctors writing poems, novels and plays? Not to mention memoirs and opinion pieces. Do they have visions of Hollywood grandeur or is something more noble happening?

What's with all the doctors writing poems, novels and plays? Not to mention memoirs and opinion pieces. Do they have visions of Hollywood grandeur or is something more noble happening?

Consumer Behavior
Why Are Hospice Names So Odd?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on July 30, 2014

When shopping for a hospice, look past the often head-scratching names.
Marketers may be overcompensating for having to use the scary word "hospice" in the company or organization's name, with words like "aspire" and "ascend."

When shopping for a hospice, look past the often head-scratching names.
Marketers may be overcompensating for having to use the scary word "hospice" in the company or organization's name, with words like "aspire" and "ascend."

Psychopharmacology
Fasting to Death

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on July 17, 2014

A popular radio host's personal disclosure sheds light on a legal way for terminally ill people to hasten death: stopping eating and drinking.

A popular radio host's personal disclosure sheds light on a legal way for terminally ill people to hasten death: stopping eating and drinking.

Anxiety
Treatment or Comfort: Why Must Dying Patients Choose?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on May 15, 2014

Insurance rules force dying patients to make an agonizing choice: If you want hospice care, you have to stop potentially life-prolonging treatment. It's time to re-think the rules.

Insurance rules force dying patients to make an agonizing choice: If you want hospice care, you have to stop potentially life-prolonging treatment. It's time to re-think the rules.

Career
Hospice at the Oscars

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on February 25, 2014

An Oscar-nominated film shows the transformative power of hospice in even the harshest environment: a maximum-security prison. Former segregationist Jack Hall is cared for, tenderly, at the end of his life by black volunteers, mostly murderers like himself.

An Oscar-nominated film shows the transformative power of hospice in even the harshest environment: a maximum-security prison. Former segregationist Jack Hall is cared for, tenderly, at the end of his life by black volunteers, mostly murderers like himself.

Humor
When Life Gives You Death, What's So Funny?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on January 9, 2014

Allen Klein helps people use humor in meeting life's toughest challenges. Neither comedian nor clown, he teaches communication and coping skills to deal with stress, disease and death.

Allen Klein helps people use humor in meeting life's toughest challenges. Neither comedian nor clown, he teaches communication and coping skills to deal with stress, disease and death.

Happiness
Is There a Right Way to Die?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on December 19, 2013

A dying teenager’s song and thousand-watt smile go viral and raise the question: Do you have to be happy to die well?

A dying teenager’s song and thousand-watt smile go viral and raise the question: Do you have to be happy to die well?

Health
Are Moments of Death Must-See TV?

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on November 21, 2013

Showtime’s powerful six-part documentary, Time of Death, follows eight terminally ill people through their last weeks, days and moments. At the halfway mark of the series, we assess: What’s to be learned from the uncomfortable experience of watching someone die?

Showtime’s powerful six-part documentary, Time of Death, follows eight terminally ill people through their last weeks, days and moments. At the halfway mark of the series, we assess: What’s to be learned from the uncomfortable experience of watching someone die?

Aging
Linda Ronstadt’s New Voice—About End-of-Life Issues

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on November 15, 2013

When Parkinson’s disease robbed Grammy award-winner Linda Ronstadt of her singing voice, she discovered she could write. Her new memoir shines a light on aging, illness, hope, fear and being there for loved ones who are dying.

When Parkinson’s disease robbed Grammy award-winner Linda Ronstadt of her singing voice, she discovered she could write. Her new memoir shines a light on aging, illness, hope, fear and being there for loved ones who are dying.

Relationships
Until Death Do Us Part

Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel on November 7, 2013

Getting married in the face of death is the ultimate love story. It's also a lesson in hope. Why some couples say "I do" when a partner is about to die.

Getting married in the face of death is the ultimate love story. It's also a lesson in hope. Why some couples say "I do" when a partner is about to die.