How to Ask Somone With Cancer "How Are You Doing?"

A good rule of thumb is, if you're not prepared to listen openly, don't ask the question. And especially don't ask someone with cancer, who's going through one o f the most difficult, frightening, and painful challenges of their life, how they're feeling, unless you care enough to listen intently. Care Pages

Schiavo's brother backs local woman's custody fight

Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo, was in Elmira, NY, Monday to show his support for Sara Harvey, who is attempting to regain custody of her injured husband, Gary Harvey. Harvey has been in a persistent vegetative state since he fell down his basement steps in January 2006. Sara Harvey was removed as her husband’s guardian in February 2007 after a judge found she was ill-suited to care for him and did not follow medical advice. The county attorney’s office claims Sara Harvey has a history of abusing her injured husband, an allegation she denies. She claims Chemung County is trying to kill her husband, as evidenced by its request in May to remove Gary Harvey’s feeding tube. Ultimately, the county withdrew its request to remove Gary Harvey’s feeding tube, but a do-not-resuscitate order remains in place. Online Leader

Should we entrust our health to Obamacare?

In Congress, neither Democrats nor Republicans have paid much attention to the impact of health rationing on medical innovations that greatly improve quality of life, and indeed often prolong life. Consider where some of us would be without such surgical advances as heart-bypass operations and newly developed and tested prescription drugs for a wide range of diseases that affect millions of us. JWR

Court challenge to assisted suicide guidance

A wheelchair-bound disability campaigner who previously wished to die has launched a legal challenge in the Supreme Court against proposed guidelines on prosecuting assisted suicide cases. Alison Davis claims the legal ruling that resulted in the guidelines being issued was unsound due to “apparent bias” on the part of one of the judges.

In July five Law Lords, including Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, ruled in favour of assisted suicide campaigner Debbie Purdy’s demand for official guidance on the application of the law. After the ruling Lord Phillips told The Daily Telegraph that he had “enormous sympathy” with anyone who preferred to “end their life more swiftly and avoid [a prolonged] death as well as avoiding the pain and distress that might cause their relatives.” Miss Davis alleges the judge’s personal opinion affected the ruling. Christian Institute

Euthanasia law fuels suffering in Holland

Dr Elst Borst, the architect of legal euthanasia in Holland, has admitted that she may have made a mistake in pushing the law through. Dr Borst made the comments during an interview for a new book, Redeemer Under God. The former Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister admitted that care for the terminally-ill had declined since the law came into effect.

The author of Redeemer Under God, Dr Anne-Marie The, has studied euthanasia for 15 years. Her research found that the available palliative care in Holland was so inadequate that patients “often ask for euthanasia out of fear.” Christian Institute

Belgian Doctor Cleared of Murder Charges after Euthanizing 88-year-old, Non-Terminally-Ill Woman

A Belgian judge has decide not to prosecute a doctor specializing in euthanasia after he was accused of murdering a woman who came to him seeking death, but who was not terminally ill. Dr. Marc Cosyns of Ghent euthanized the 88-year-old woman on January 5, 2008, after her own doctor had opposed the request for euthanasia. It was reported that the woman had an incurable disease that was not terminal and suffered from several other ailments. The woman's son filed a complaint with the public prosecutor after he learned of Dr. Cosyns part in his mother's death.

Upon hearing of the judge's refusal to hear the charge of murder against him, Dr. Cosyns reportedly said, "I am very pleased that the right of the patient has been secured. There is still misunderstanding, among patients and family members, about euthanasia in cases of a non-terminal condition, but it is possible." In 2002, Belgium passed a law allowing euthanasia on newborns and terminally ill patients suffering "constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain."

More great moments in socialized medicine

Healthcare standards in the UK are worse than many former communist states despite billions of pounds of extra funding being pumped into the NHS under Labour, the figures indicate. The report by the Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development compared medical data and spending across European countries plus the United States, Mexico, Japan and South Korea. Telegraph

New look for BFL web site

Check out Baptists for Life's redesigned web site, sporting a new look and an updated logo. Coming soon -- the ability to make online purchases of items from our catalog, and the ability to register online for events such as the next LIFT Caregiver Conference! Our thanks to K-Data Systems!

Former Dutch Health Minister Admits Error of Legalizing Euthanasia

Els Borst, who served as Health Minister for the Netherlands from 1994 to 2002, proposed the country's infamous euthanasia bill. When it passed in 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. In 2008, Dutch doctors reported 2,331 cases of euthanasia, 400 cases of assisted suicide, and 550 deaths without request. Borst has now admitted that the government's move was a mistake, and says that they should have first focused on palliative care. LifeSiteNews, related article

Paralysed rugby player who wanted to die gains law job

A man who wanted to die after being left paralysed by a rugby accident is now celebrating a first class law degree and a job at a top city firm. He is one of several people with a disabled or terminal condition who are glad they didn’t end it all, and who now live a life of value and meaning. Christian Institute

In Hospice, Care and Comfort as Life Wanes

Jane Brody spent a day last month shadowing hospice workers from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. "With each visit to the homes of four patients whose lives were ebbing, the caring, patience, attention and expertise I observed left me wondering why all medicine is not like this — focused on the whole person, not just a disease." NY Times

More great moments in socialized medicine

Hundreds of patients may have died needlessly at an NHS hospital due to appalling standards of care, a damning report has found. Telegraph

The Cost of Dying

Editor: I'm sick of hearing that what's spent on patients in their dying days is far more than is spent at any other time in their lives (as in this CBS News story) -- and, by implication, is far too much. Doesn't it beg the question? Isn't it about right that more be spent when you're the most ill, when life is at its most fragile? Should we be expecting some sort of parity: We'll only spend in our last days an amount equal to or less than what's been spent on us during our lifetime? Isn't that absurd?

This article cites Marcia Klish as an example:

Marcia Klish is either being saved by medical technology or being prevented from dying a natural death. She is 71 years old and suffering from the complications of colon surgery and a hospital-acquired infection. She has been unconscious in the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., for the better part of a week.

One of her doctors, Ira Byock, told 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft it costs up to $10,000 a day to maintain someone in the intensive care unit. Some patients remain here for weeks or even months; one has been in the ICU since May. "This is the way so many Americans die. Something like 18 to 20 percent of Americans spend their last days in an ICU," Byock told Kroft. "And, you know, it's extremely expensive. It's uncomfortable. Many times they have to be sedated so that they don't reflexively pull out a tube, or sometimes their hands are restrained. This is not the way most people would want to spend their last days of life. And yet this has become almost the medical last rites for people as they die."

Dr. Byock leads a team that treats and counsels patients with advanced illnesses. He says modern medicine has become so good at keeping the terminally ill alive by treating the complications of underlying disease that the inevitable process of dying has become much harder and is often prolonged unnecessarily. "Families cannot imagine there could be anything worse than their loved one dying. But in fact, there are things worse. Most generally, it's having someone you love die badly," Byock said.

Asked what he means by "die badly," Byock told Kroft, "Dying suffering. Dying connected to machines. I mean, denial of death at some point becomes a delusion, and we start acting in ways that make no sense whatsoever. And I think that's
collectively what we're doing."

But what should Marcia have done? Gone home after infection set in? Not had the surgery? If she'd known she'd end up in ICU, she probably wouldn't have chosen surgery, but who knew at the time how this would turn out? At 71, she may have felt she had a lot of time left. Maybe her parents died in their 90s and she had a reasonable expectation of long life. Should she now be denied treatment for complications?

As I said, it begs for more questions to be asked.

3- part series on Alzheimer's in January: Wyoming, MI

The Alzheimer's Association - Greater Michigan Chapter - announces a three-part series in January:

Week 1 – Monday, January 11, 2010, 2-4 PM
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias - tips for getting a diagnosis, warning signs to watch for

Week 2 – Monday, January 18, 2-4 PM
Legal and Financial Issues - tips for making financial and medical decisions on behalf of a person with dementia; planning for future care needs: understanding Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Benefits

Week 3 – Monday, January 25, 2-4 PM
Strategies for Navigating the Dementia Journey - tips for successfully interacting with a person with dementia, where to go for assistance

Location: Metro Health Professional Building — Conference Rooms (on the Metro Health Hospital Campus), 2122 Health Drive SW, Wyoming, MI 49519
Refreshments provided. A donation of $10 per person (or family) per session is suggested.

Please call to reserve your seat or for more information: (616) 459-4558 or 1-800-272-3900

Coping with Medical Challenges During the Holidays

If you or a loved one is dealing with the challenges of diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis or other health condition, give yourself the gift of a lower-stress holiday season this year. The holidays are generally considered to be a joyous time; however, for people coping with serious illnesses, the holidays can bring unwanted stress. Michelle Riba, M.D., professor of psychiatry and associate chair for integrated medicine and psychiatric services at the University of Michigan Health System, recommends ways to steer clear of these unnecessary stresses during the winter months. Right at Home

New Study Shows What Americans Don't Know About Long-Term Care

Most Americans know what long-term care is and how much it costs, but their scores fall short regarding how many people will need it and how they will pay for it. The MetLife Long-Term Care IQ Survey, taken by 1,021 individuals aged 40 to 70 in 2009, reveals that most are not taking appropriate steps to protect themselves from potentially catastrophic expenses. Right at Home

Related article: Holiday Visits May Be the Time to Discuss Home Care

Patients demand changes to Liverpool Care Pathway

The Pathway was caught in a blaze of controversy in September when a group of doctors claimed it was the cause of elderly and sick patients dying prematurely. The option to withdraw food and fluids became a particular focus for public concern, leaving many elderly and terminally ill people frightened they might spend their last days starved and dehydrated. In a further disturbing twist, a national audit of the LCP revealed the same month that more than a quarter of families were not informed when their relatives were moved onto the Pathway.

The architects of the LCP are seeking to address these concerns with a revised version of the guidelines which they will launch on Wednesday. They will include the requirement that patients and their families are consulted before the LCP is commenced, and will stipulate that food, fluids and non-palliative medication should be withdrawn only if they are harmful or burdensome to a dying patient. Telegraph

How to Apply for Disability

Social Security and other types of disability coverage all have different application processes. Here’s what you need to know about how to apply for benefits. CarePages

Trapped in his own body for 23 years: the coma victim who screamed unheard

For 23 years Rom Houben saw his doctors and nurses as they visited him during their daily rounds; he listened to the conversations of his carers; he heard his mother deliver the news to him that his father had died. But he could do nothing. He was unable to communicate with his doctors or family. He could not move his head or weep, he could only listen. Doctors presumed he was in a vegetative state following a near-fatal car crash in 1983. They believed he could feel nothing and hear nothing. Then a neurologist decided to take a radical look at the state of diagnosed coma patients, released him from his torture. Using a state-of-the-art scanning system, Steven Laureys found to his amazement that his brain was functioning almost normally.

The moment it was discovered he was not in a vegetative state, said Houben, was like being born again. "I'll never forget the day that they discovered me," he said. "It was my second birth." Experts say Laureys' findings are likely to reopen the debate over when the decision should be made to terminate the lives of those in comas who appear to be unconscious but may have almost fully-functioning brains. Guardian, Other falsely diagnosed coma cases

The Rationing Commission

Meet the unelected body that will dictate future medical decisions. Democrats are quietly attempting to impose a "global budget" on Medicare, with radical implications for U.S. medicine.
Like most of Europe, the various health bills stipulate that Congress will arbitrarily decide how much to spend on health care for seniors every year—and then invest an unelected board with extraordinary powers to dictate what is covered and how it will be paid for. Prominent health economist Alain Enthoven has likened a global budget to "bombing from 35,000 feet, where you don't see the faces of the people you kill." WSJ

6 Tips to Avoid Medication Mishaps

Don't just let your doctor write a prescription and send you on your way. Ask the right questions so you can take your medication safely and properly. Everyday Health

Understanding Advance Care Directives

You can help ensure your health care wishes are known and respected through advance care directives. These directives address how aggressively you want doctors to pursue life-sustaining measures on your behalf or whether your quality of life or comfort should be paramount concerns. Everyday Health

Pro-life resources:
Baptists for Life's Protective Medical Decisions Declaration (use it with your state's Will to Live below)
The Will to Live Project

Inside the Dignitas house

More than 1,000 people have travelled to Switzerland to end their lives. But what is it really like inside the world's first assisted suicide center? The two-story house in Pfäffikon was bought for around €1m (£880,000) – much of it raised by donations from members. Guardian

Honest Food Guide

If you want a real guide to which foods you should eat, check out the Honest Food Guide, an easy-to-use nutritional reference chart that will help you make the best choices at every meal. The "Honest Food Guide" is based on real nutrition, not politics or special interest groups, and it illustrates the nutritional principles that will keep you healthy for life.

Senate Health Care Bill is Assisted Suicide Friendly

Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith says the new Senate health care reform bill contains another problem apart form abortion funding. The new measure is friendly to assisted suicide in that it contains language supporting physicians who don't want to kill their patients but promotes the practice nonetheless. "[I]t is a conscience clause protecting medical professionals who don't commit assisted suicide. There is no prohibition on promoting it or having it paid for under the plan. . . . If assisted suicide, or even euthanasia, are legally considered forms of 'end of life' care in a particular state–as it is now in Oregon, Washington, and Montana–it seems to me that the area’s community health insurance option would be required to provide access to it under this clause. How else can the provision be read?" LifeNews

Police Raid Offices of Assisted Suicide Organization

Police raided the Melbourne offices of Exit International last Thursday, seizing documents related to the alleged assisted suicide of Exit International member Frank Ward. In response, Exit International has told its 4,000 members to be wary not to attract police activity. The raid highlights the dubious legal status of Exit International's activities. According to Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said, "I think that this raid is long-overdue. [Dr. Philip] Nitschke [head of Exit International] has been skirting the law for many years." LifeSiteNews

Legal restrictions on “suicide tourism” and organ trafficking

Two areas that give medical tourism a bad name, and most medical tourism hospitals and clinics avoid, are suicide tourism and organ transplant trafficking. Authorities want to end both. International Medical Travel Journal

Illegal organ trade rife in China

Organ trafficking in China is more active than ever despite efforts to crack down on the trade, with kidneys being openly bought and sold online in a dozen cities across the country. The Chinese Government has tried to limit organ trafficking by launching a national organ donation system earlier this year. But the program is failing to attract donors, with China boasting one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world, and instead people are turning to organ trading websites. One Chinese kidney trading website is packed with organ brokers' advertisements where contact numbers are openly on display. The ads ask potential sellers to contact them, promising a safe surgery and a quick cash payment. ABC News (Australia)

Hospital Guilty of "Unreasonable Obstinacy" in Saving Newborn's Life

A hospital in the south of France has been found guilty of taking excessive measures when they successfully revived a newborn baby that had been declared stillborn. The baby's heartbeat had dropped during delivery, and the baby seemed to be dead upon birth. After twenty-five minutes of attempted resuscitation, the gynecologist informed the parents that the baby was dead, but staff continued their efforts and the heartbeat returned. The baby has since suffered severe mental and physical disabilities due to the trauma.

The parents' lawyer was pleased with the decision, which he says is unprecedented in France. "For the first time, a tribunal recognizes that a life without consciousness is not a life," he said. He accused the hospital of having "forced to revive a child." According to Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, the decision could have far-reaching consequences for children born with various anomalies. If the decision is taken seriously, he said, "it will once again dehumanize people born with disabilities, to the point where their lives will be considered incompatible with life. The judge should have said that while the ethics of [the extraordinary measures] might be questionable, now that that child is alive, we cannot question this. If someone is alive, it should simply be deemed that their life is worthy of life, and we should not be judging that life as having value or somehow being a life that should not have happened. Being alive should be enough."

Baby RB: when is it right to allow a child to die?

A loving father last week abandoned a court battle to save his disabled child’s life. Why did he change his mind and what wider ethical questions has this tragic case raised? Telegraph

Editor: A thoughtful article. Was this euthanasia? It seems to me this was a case of the underlying condition being the cause of death, and not the act of removing life support. Agree? Disagree?

Dementia drug use 'killing many'

Needless use of anti-psychotic drugs is widespread in dementia care and contributes to the death of many patients, an official review suggests. About 180,000 patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals, and their own homes to manage aggression. But the expert review - commissioned by ministers - said the treatment was unnecessary in nearly 150,000 cases and was linked to 1,800 deaths. BBC

Life and death decisions with a disabled child

A mother of a disabled child says, "I stopped believing the doctors. I started believing in my daughter. And yet no one believed in me. There was no joined-up thinking. No early intervention, no support structure." The Independent

Related: It's a scary time for disabled people in the UK

Father drops right-to-life fight

A father who had been fighting to stop a hospital withdrawing life support from his seriously ill son has dropped his objections. The one-year-old, known as Baby RB for legal reasons, was born with a rare, genetic muscle condition that makes independent breathing impossible. The hospital was backed by the baby's mother. But the move had been strongly opposed by the child's father at a High Court hearing. BBC

A Photo Essay of Multiple Sclerosis

Patricia Lay-Dorsey, 67, wasn’t fond of the way she looked. Her wrinkles — the “dry creek bed” on her face — made her feel uncomfortable. So she made a series of close-up portraits of her face. Ms. Lay-Dorsey felt some shame over falling down because of multiple sclerosis. So she documented her daily routine. And, while exposing herself, Ms. Lay-Dorsey noticed something unexpected. “Somehow,” she said, “I began to feel more beautiful.” NY Times blog

Committee rejects N.H. assisted suicide bill

The New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee voted 14-3 against the bill that would let terminally ill patients over age 18 obtain lethal prescriptions, with safeguards to prevent abuses. Supporters of assisted suicide said the bill was flawed and teamed up with opponents to vote against recommending the measure to the full House. The committee has been working on the bill since September. The House votes on the recommendation in January. If the chamber accepts the committee recommendation, legislative rules make it nearly impossible for the issue to be brought up again next year. Boston Globe

Why Health Reform Will Be a Danger to Passive Patients

A sea change is coming in the way Americans experience and pay for healthcare—one that will require us to develop a whole new set of muscles. The thousands of pages of legislation penned to overhaul the nation's healthcare system touch every nook and cranny of medicine, changing the relationship of doctors and patients, rewriting textbooks of medicine with more focus on staying well, and setting new rules for how treatments are—or are not—blessed. US News

Susan Jacoby: On the avoidance of death in life

From a secularist point of view, the only moral issue is an individual's right to determine, insofar as that is possible, the conditions of his or her own dying and death. For many of us, that won't be possible because we will not be mentally competent at the end--and that's why it is so important to make our wishes known and delegate decision-making power to a trusted relative or friend. The reason why this issue has become another attack point for the religious right is not, as conservatives contend, fear of government control. It is, rather, the belief that only God has the power of life and death. That's one reason why the right regards assisted suicide with horror. There is also a profoundly conservative religious belief that suffering has some sort of intrinsic exemplary value. I reject that belief (as do many liberal religious believers). Washington Post

Limited Mobility of Another Sort

In theory, the continuing care retirement community, or C.C.R.C., makes great sense: build different types of senior housing on a single campus, or even in a single building, so that as residents need more care, they can transfer within the facility — from independent living apartments to assisted living units to a nursing home — instead of being uprooted from familiar surroundings. More than a half-million older Americans find this an attractive idea and have moved into such a retirement community. Yet ever since reporting a few years ago in an assisted living facility in Bethesda, Md., and hearing about a resident who pushed the wrong elevator button and then screamed in horror when the doors opened onto the nursing home floor, I have wondered how these transitions work in practice. NYTimes blog

Limited Mobility of Another Sort

In theory, the continuing care retirement community, or C.C.R.C., makes great sense: build different types of senior housing on a single campus, or even in a single building, so that as residents need more care, they can transfer within the facility — from independent living apartments to assisted living units to a nursing home — instead of being uprooted from familiar surroundings. More than a half-million older Americans find this an attractive idea and have moved into such a retirement community. Yet ever since reporting a few years ago in an assisted living facility in Bethesda, Md., and hearing about a resident who pushed the wrong elevator button and then screamed in horror when the doors opened onto the nursing home floor, I have wondered how these transitions work in practice. NYTimes blog

The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Can Tell Us About Life After Loss

We tend to understand grief as a predictable five-stage process of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But in The Other Side of Sadness, George Bonanno shows that our conventional model discounts our capacity for resilience. In fact, he reveals that we are already hardwired to deal with our losses efficiently—not by graduating through static phases. Good Reads

Elderly couple's suicide pact

Dennis Milner, 83, and his wife Flora, 81, from Newbury, Berkshire, sent a statement to the BBC saying they had “chosen to peacefully end our lives” to avoid “a living death.” The couple’s bodies were discovered on Sunday. In the note, the couple said they hoped to draw attention to the “serious human dilemma” faced by those who want to end their lives. In handwritten notes below a typed section of the letter, Dennis Milner wrote: “Arranging this so that it does not fail has been very difficult and traumatic for us. This need not and should not be the case.” In a statement with the letter they said that they had enjoyed “a happy, loving and exciting life” and thanked the NHS for extending their lives. The couple’s daughter, Chrissy, told the BBC her parents were in good health but wanted to end their lives before they were unable to care for themselves. BBNews

When You're the Baloney in the Sandwich

Humorist Judy Schreur will present this lighthearted talk during the Caregiving: A Family Affair event on Saturday, November 14, from 10 am to noon at the Ryerson Auditorium in the Grand Rapids Public Library. This free event will also feature family caregiving essay contest winners, and a wide range of caregiver resource information from the Caregiver Resource Network. Registration is encouraged. To reserve your spot email the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan or call (616) 222-7055. Free parking with special parking lot ticket.

Get to Know: Faith Hospice

Faith Hospice, the only faith-based hospice located in Grand Rapids, provides comfort care to those with a life-limiting illness or condition as well as support to their families. "Our team of professionals, including doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, hospice aides and volunteers, serves patients in a variety of settings. If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness, call Faith Hospice today. You are not alone - we're here to help."

Dementia care partner support group

The Alzheimer's Association of Greater Michigan Chapter (West Michigan Region), ComForcare, and SarahCare Adult Day Care Center are co-sponsors of a support goupr for care partners of people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.

When? 2nd Monday of every month from 3:30-4:30 pm.

Where? at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, Metro Health Village, 2024 Health Drive, Suite B, Wyoming, MI 49519

For information, call Alicia Junghans at (616) 285-7000 or call the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-272-3900

Senior Home Care Blog

Visit the Senior Home Care Blog often to find the latest updates on family caregiving, home care, and tips on caring for the caregiver. Click 'Get the Feed' (top of the right-hand sidebar) and then 'Subscribe to this Feed' to be notified when updates are available.

Online newsletter: Caring Right at Home

Learn more about healthy aging and family caregiving. Sign up for the free monthly online edition of Caring Right at Home. Click 'subscribe now' from the upper left-hand menu. You may also browse past issues.

Get to Know: Caregiver Resource Network

Caregivers often become very isolated and feel alone in the daily tasks and challenges of caregiving. In the hope that no one has to “walk the caregiver path alone” it is the mission of the Caregiver Resource Network to provide family and professional caregivers with needed information and resources. Therefore this website provides a wide-range of educational fact sheets, articles, web links, and resource materials on topics related to caregiver well-being; respite care; health and wellness; legal and financial issues; and long distance caregiving, as well as programs and services available in West Michigan.

101 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW

A plethora of advice with links: To protect seniors from criminals . . . about researching long-term care . . . about pension rights . . . about protecting your health . . . for locating agencies that can help . . . for minding finances wisely . . . from attorney Constance L. Brigman.

What Is a Caregiver Contract?

It is essentially an employment agreement with one’s children. It may seem odd to put an employment agreement in place with family members, but it puts all the issues on paper when there is no crisis, so the entire family can work together and understand what the parents’ wishes are. Learn more.

Get to Know: Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan

Established in April 1974, the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan exists to help older adults and persons with disabilities live in their community with independence and dignity. Find events and services near you.

Stay active, prevent falls

Staying physically active and exercising regularly can help prevent or delay some diseases and disabilities as people grow older. Older people of all ages have much to gain from staying active. Download this brochure depicting exercises that can be done from seated and standing positions.

Get to Know: National Private Duty Association

Home care choices can be difficult. The National Private Duty Association is here to help. Private duty home care agencies are companies that provide home care aides, companion care, homemaker services and may provide nursing services in the client's home or place of residence. Members of the NPDA employ trained caregivers and assume all responsibility for the payroll and all related taxes - this is never passed off to the customer. Find providers near you.

Parents Battle Over Disabled Boy

Parents in Britain are battling at the nation's high court in the case of Baby RB, a disabled boy whose father is opposing attempts by a hospital trust to deny him life-sustaining treatment. The mother is defending her decision to support the doctors' recommendation to terminate the one-year-old baby's life support. The boy has CMS, a condition that severely limits limb movement and the ability to breathe independently and he has been hospitalized since birth. His father, who is separated from the boy's mother, opposes taking his life by removing the life support.

"RB's mother has sat by her son's bedside every day since he was born," her attorney, Anthony Fairweather, said. "In her mind the intolerable suffering experienced by her son must outweigh her own personal grief should she lose her child." The baby's father and his attorneys argue the child's brain is unaffected by the condition and that he can see, hear, feel and recognize his parents. He argues a tracheotomy, where a hole is made in the neck to allow air to reach his lungs, would allow his son to leave hospital and be cared for at home. LifeNews

Australia's "Dr. Death" visits San Francisco

Philip Nitschke will bring his suicide seminar to the Buddhist Center in San Francisco, where he will teach attendees how to kill themselves. Shouldn't there be limits to assisted-suicide permissiveness? Not according to Nitschke, who bluntly takes assisted-suicide advocacy to its logical conclusion. If we each own our bodies, he says, and if self-termination is an acceptable answer to human suffering, then assisted suicide shouldn't be restricted to limited "subgroups," such as the dying. Indeed, in 2001 interview with National Review Online, Nitschke asserted that "all people qualify ... including the depressed, the elderly bereaved, the troubled teen." SF Chronicle

What To Do When Crisis Hits

Emergencies often strike without warning, and caregiving blogger Lynda Shrager has learned firsthand how important it is that we "take the time to organize our important paperwork before a crisis occurs." Everyday Health

Rationing Care at the Beginning of Life?

In the course of the debate over health care reform, some of the political rhetoric has focused on "rationing" and the idea of how much money can or should be spent on someone at the end of his or her life. But as care evolves, similar debates may someday surround how much can be spent at life's beginning. Few cases illustrate this as starkly as a baby born prematurely at 21 weeks and five days in Britain last month, who died as doctors declined to resuscitate him. ABC News

"Death Panels" Return

The provisions on advanced-planning directives labeled "death panels" by concerned observers have re-emerged in the final version of the US House of Representatives health-care reform bill. Moreover, the bill also lacks protective language that would prevent reimbursement of physicians counseling assisted suicide as a legitimate "end-of-life" option in states like Washington and Oregon.

Section 240 of HR 3962 "Affordable Health Care for America Act" requires insurance companies offering a "qualified health benefits plan" on the health insurance exchange to provide information related to "end-of-life planning" to enrolled individuals. Although the section stipulates that advance directives "shall not promote suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing," none of the terms are defined in the bill. That poses a problem since some states like Oregon and Washington have laws legalizing physician-assisted suicide, but these states employ different terms. LifeSiteNews

10 Things People With Cancer Don't Want to Hear

To commemorate the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, breast cancer survivor Marika Holmgren recently published a top-10 list of common (and unhelpful) remarks uttered to cancer survivors. Care Pages

10 ways to make your home "aging-friendly"

1. Install grab bars where needed in the shower and near shower doors
2. Consider replacing the bathtub with a shower and seat
3. Install extra under-cabinet lighting in your kitchen
4. Raise your dishwasher, washer, and dryer 12 inches off the floor to reduce back strain
5. Avoid faucets with twisting handles; use single-lever faucets or lever-handled faucets
6. Use pulls rather than knobs on drawers or cabinets
7. If possible, create a main-floor full bathroom and bedroom, as well as laundry room
8. Build a "visitable" entry -- one without entry steps -- for one entry of your home
9. Install roll-out shelving in your kitchen cabinets
10. Plan for 48 inches in any work aisle spaces, such as around kitchen islands

These tips are from DreamMaker Baths and Kitchens, who specialize in home modification services for the home-bound and elderly, "working with your budget in mind."

3-part Alzheimer's education series

• Understanding Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias - Wednesday, November 4
• Legal and Financial Issues - Wednesday, Nov. 11
• Strategies for Navigating the Dementia Journey - Wednesday, Nov. 18

All the seminars are from 7-9 pm at the Evergreen Commons seminar room, 480 State St. in Holland, MI. Call (616) 396-7100 for more information. Sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging of West Michigan.

Get to Know: Right at Home

Right at Home is a national in home care and assistance agency. "We provide trained, insured and bonded caregivers for a variety of home care and home health care needs. Please feel free to contact any one of our office locations nationwide with your home care questions and discuss your specific situation." Right at Home Grand Rapids, Paula and Richard Nelson

Get to Know: Comfort Keepers

At Comfort Keepers, nothing is more important than helping people live full, independent and dignified lives within the comfort of their own homes. Comfort Keepers is dedicated to providing in-home care "that enriches our clients' lives and helps them maintain the highest possible level of independent living." Comfort Keepers provide you or a loved one in-home assistance that may include:

• companionship
• meal preparation
• transportation to doctor appointments or other commitments
• light housekeeping
• in-home safety technology

Click here for a complete list of services

Caregiver Stress Check

Caregiving can be stressful. Get the help you need. Are you a caregiver for someone with a disabling condition such as Alzheimer's? Do you feel overwhelmed? You may be putting your own health at risk. Take our Caregiver Stress Check, and then get resources from the Alzheimer's Association that can help.

Download 10 Ways to Help a Family Living with Alzheimer's
Order the Caregiver Notebook
Download 10 Ways to Be a Healthier Caregiver

101 ways to spend time with a person with Alzheimer’s disease

Listen to music . . . Toss a ball . . . Color pictures . . . Make homemade lemonade . . . String beads . . . Take photos of the person and you and create a collage . . . Plant seeds indoors or outdoors . . . Look at family photographs . . . Fold laundry . . . Cut pictures out of greeting cards or magazines . . . Play dominoes . . . Invite the person to tell you more when he or she talks about a memory . . . Make a Valentine card . . . Ask the person about his or her brothers or sisters . . . Find more ideas on the Alzheimer's Association web site.

Additional resources from AA:

Best ways to interact with the person with dementia
How to respond when dementia causes unpredictable behaviors

Get to Know: Sarah Care adult day care centers

Sarah Care creates a vibrant and social community for your loved one to enjoy their day while receiving the care they need. "Because our care is provided in centers with a specially trained staff, we can handle your loved ones complex health-related needs."

Get to Know: Elder Law Solutions

This division of Plachta, Murphy & Associates, PC, provides solutions for estate planning, government benefits, guardianships and conservatorships, family caregiver agreements, financial planning, advocacy issues, and elder care resources. "Our mission is to provide a professional circle of care around seniors and those who care for them as they transition into retirement, caregiving, and life's later stages."

Beatitudes for Special People

BLESSED ARE YOU who help us with the graciousness of Christ, for often we need the help we cannot ask for.

BLESSED ARE YOU when, by all things, you assure us that what makes us individuals is not our particular disability or difficulty but our beautiful God-given personhood which no handicapping condition can confine.

REJOICE AND BE EXCEEDINGLY GLAD for your understanding and love have opened doors for us to enjoy life to its full and you have helped us believe in ourselves as valued and gifted people.

Attributed to Rabbi Lionel Blue; read more here. But after a little more checking (6/23/10), I've learned it may be attributable to Marjorie Chappell or Robert Perske. Still checking.

Third of doctors act to shorten lives of dying

Around a third of [UK] doctors say they have given drugs to terminally ill patients or withdrawn treatment, knowing or intending that it would shorten their life, research reveals. A study of doctors in charge of the last hours of almost 3,000 people finds decisions almost always have to be made on whether to give drugs to relieve pain that could shorten life and whether to continue resuscitation and artificial feeding. In 211 cases (7.4%), doctors say they gave drugs or stopped treatment to speed the patient's death. In 825 cases (28.9%), doctors made a decision on treatment that they knew would probably or certainly hasten death. One in 10 patients asked their doctor to help them die faster. Guardian

Switzerland aims to stop 'suicide tourism'

The Swiss government has laid out plans to tighten rules on assisted suicide in a bid to prevent abuse by organisations like the Dignitas clinic offering euthanasia. In one of two options suggested, it tabled an outright ban on organizations offering assisted suicide, although it made clear that it preferred a second option of imposing more stringent rules on such organizations. Telegraph

Bobby Schindler wants to abolish the PVS diagnosis

Because of the suffering my sister and others endured that I believe the PVS diagnosis must be either reevaluated or completely abolished. With so many medical and neurological professionals admitting that there are inaccuracies and with the diagnosis being a death sentence, it is time to rethink disability and the way we regard it and our fellow human beings. Secondhand Smoke

They Really, Really Want To Kill For Organs

For years bioethicists have said removing unwanted life support isn’t killing. And they are right, since death comes from the underlying disease. But now, it is because we want more organs? This is surreal. Here is what is going on: The very crowdwho assured us that brain death was dead, are now saying it isn’t. And the reason for both arguments is the same–to increase the supply of organs. But if brain dead isn’t dead, the only ethical answer is to stop killing patients, not find new ones to terminate. Secondhand Smoke, part 2

Light Touch Helps Grip of MS Patients

People with MS use excessive force when lifting objects, which can lead to fatigue and make everyday tasks difficult, physical therapists from the University of Illinois at Chicago explained in a school news release. Using the finger of the opposite hand to apply a gentle touch to the affected hand may help improve control and coordination, they stated. The study included eight adults with MS who were asked to grip and lift a variety of objects and move them in several different ways, directions and velocities. When they used the gentle finger touch, the force of their grip was reduced and the task became easier. Everyday Health

Get to Know: GriefShare

GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life’s most difficult experiences. You don’t have to go through the grieving process alone. GriefShare seminars and support groups are led by people who understand what you are going through and want to help. You’ll gain access to valuable GriefShare resources to help you recover from your loss and look forward to rebuilding your life. There are thousands of GriefShare grief recovery support groups meeting throughout the US, Canada and in over 10 other countries. There’s one meeting near you! Sign up to receive daily emails for your season of grief.

LIFT Caregiver Summit recap

We're still unpacking from the conference this past weekend and have yet to evaluate the evaluations, but we're praising God that everything went smoothly and that people were encouraged. We'll have recordings of the sessions available soon for order. Watch this space for information on that and also for highlights from the exhibitors.

End of Life Care Should Not End Life

As talk of "death panels" and "rationing" stirs debate over the government's proper role in health care, two new studies funded by the National Institutes of Health are lending new weight to the argument that, when it comes to providing end-of-life care for the elderly and terminally ill, sometimes less is better. The studies, featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, document how certain medical therapies implemented in the final months of a patient's life often cause emotional and physical stress and pain, effectively negating any positive benefits associated with such treatments. However, those worried that a government takeover of health care will result in health care rationing view these studies with alarm. LifeNews

Educate Yourself About the Major Healthcare Reform Proposals

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, private foundation that focuses on the major healthcare issues facing the U.S., now offers an interactive side-by-side health reform comparison tool on its Web site. The tool allows users to compare the leading comprehensive reform proposals put forth by the president and members of Congress. The Foundation will continue to update the tool to reflect major new proposals and any significant changes to the plans already introduced.

Free Teleclass: Learn How to Prevent Medication Mishaps

"Safe & Sound: How to Prevent Medication Mishaps" will be offered on Thursday, November 12, at 2 p.m. EST. This free teleclass/webinar will help you understand when medication problems are most likely to occur and what you can do to prevent them. There are approximately 100,000 deaths each year due to adverse drug reactions. This teleclass/webinar will give you the tools you need to minimize the possibility that you or your loved one will experience an adverse medication event. Sign up today - and please pass this along to your family and friends.

Are You Prepared for the H1N1 Flu?

Like the seasonal flu, family caregivers must take special precautions when it comes to guarding against the H1N1 (swine) flu because your loved ones may be at higher risk for more serious complications from the flu than the population at large. The CDC recommends that those with chronic medical conditions as well as their family caregivers receive the seasonal flu vaccine annually. In addition, young people as well as younger and middle-aged adults with chronic medical conditions are at the top of the priority list when it comes to receiving the H1N1 flu vaccine, which is scheduled to become available in mid- to late-October. Flu.gov

See also: Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home

Get Answers to Your Medicare Questions

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has an entire section of its Web site devoted to providing caregiver information. You can get help with billing questions, file a claim, find sources of financial and legal help, learn about care options, and more. You can even sign up to receive Medicare's e-Newsletter, "Ask Medicare," so that you get the latest news from Medicare delivered right to your Inbox. Medicare.gov

November is National Family Caregivers Month

NFC Month is organized annually by the National Family Caregivers Association as a time each year to thank, support, educate and empower family caregivers. "This year we are encouraging people to speak up during National Family Caregivers Month,"said Suzanne Mintz, NFCA president and CEO. "One of the most important attributes of being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal, protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones, but your own as well."

• How to get NFC Month into the Media (newspapers, TV, radio, web)
• How to Celebrate NFC Month in your Community or Organization
• How to Recognize NFC Month in Houses of Worship
• Top 10 Ways to Celebrate National Family Caregivers Month

Proven: The ‘Right to Health Care’ Leads to Denial of Care

As government health-care budgets inevitably spiral out of control, hospitals find themselves with insufficient resources, so a centralized health-care bureaucracy tries to control costs by making sure patients are granted or denied care according to predetermined rules drafted by a medical rationing board. Britain has one, the National Institutes for Health and Clinical Excellence, known by the Orwellian acronym NICE—and President Obama wants to create a similar board in the US to provide "guidance" about which treatments are "cost-effective" and should be allowed.

In such a system, the patient has little or no control precisely because he is not the one paying the bills, so no one has to listen to him. That's what happens when people surrender their actual right to health-care, the right to contract for it privately with doctors and insurance companies, in exchange for an illusory "right" to whatever care the government chooses to provide—or withhold. JWR

Another great moment in nationalized health care: 3,000 NHS staff get private care

The [UK] National Health Service has spent £1.5m paying for hundreds of its staff to have private health treatment so they can leapfrog their own waiting lists. More than 3,000 staff, including doctors and nurses, have gone private at the taxpayers’ expense in the past three years because the queues at the clinics and hospitals where they work are too long. Times Online

Staying Positive After an Alzheimer's Diagnosis

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, you may feel lost as to how to proceed with your life. Learn how to stay in a positive frame of mind. Everyday Health

Common Injuries Among Older Adults

Older adults are at higher risk for fall-related injuries, some of which can increase the likelihood of death. Learn more about them so you can protect yourself and others. Everyday Health

Advanced dementia viewed as terminal illness

Advanced dementia is a terminal illness and should be viewed as such, researchers conclude in a report released Wednesday. Infections and eating problems are common and often herald the final states of life for these patients. Unfortunately, many of patients with advanced dementia suffer through burdensome medical interventions of questionable benefit as they approach the end-of-life. What they really need is hospice or "comfort" care. Reuters

Doctor Refused Care to Baby Girl Born at 22 Weeks

Necie Franklin of Flowood, Mississippi, told LifeSiteNews.com that Dr. Kenny Robbins of River Oaks Hospital refused to treat daughter Jessa Mackenzie after she was born suddenly in May, because she was three days shy of 23 weeks gestation - at which point he would have considered treating her at the hospital's Level II neonatal intensive care unit. She says Jessa's heart beat for about an hour and a half before she died, during which time the family pleaded for treatment, to no avail.

Dr. Robbins said "resuscitation was not indicated" for Jessa. Only after 23 weeks would parents be allowed to choose whether to permit resuscitation, said Robbins, "because outcomes are very poor in this age range and even those who survive have a high risk of permanent complications."

Dr. Paul Byrne, M.D., the Director of Pediatrics and Neonatology at St. Charles Mercy Hospital in Oregon, Ohio, disagrees. "There is no specific gestational age at which a baby cannot survive outside the uterus." He has known of infants as young as 18 weeks' gestation to survive. The limiting factor is related to whether the baby's trachea is large enough to allow a 2.5 millimeter tube to be inserted to aid breathing. Byrne said that Robbins' use of the term "potentially viable" was "not the correct approach."

AARP Is Hopelessly Liberal (And Against the Values of Most Seniors)

AARP’s recent support for Obamacare demonstrates once again the fact that it does not represent the core values of most retired persons. Muted but straight out hostility might be a better description. Life Issues

More great moments in socialized medicine: Pathway for the elderly that leads to legal execution

At around 4 am on Monday, a friend was woken by a call from the private care home in south-west London where her 98-year-old grandmother is resident. "Mrs ------- has breathing difficulties," the night manager told her. "She needs oxygen. Shall we call an ambulance? . . . She needs to go to hospital. Do you want that? Or would you prefer that we make her comfortable?" But being "made comfortable" is no longer the reassuring euphemism it once was. Telegraph

Born with half a brain, woman living full life

Michelle Mack has turned medical thinking upside down. Born with only half a brain, Mack can speak normally, graduated from high school and has an uncanny knack for dates. At 27, doctors determined that the right side of her brain had essentially rewired itself to make up for function that was likely lost during a pre-birth stroke. Now 37, she lives with her mother and father, and works from home doing data entry for her church. She is fairly independent, pays rent and can do most household chores. She realizes she'll need help for the rest of her life but wanted to tell her story to make it clear that she is not helpless. "I wanted to do this so people . . . learn about people like me," she said, "that I'm normal but have special needs, and that there are a lot people like me, so that they could be more understanding." CNN

'Sole caretaker' admits pushing wife, leading to her death

A man charged with killing his 70-year-old wife admitted pushing her down out of frustration that she wouldn't clean herself. The victim, Ella Comella, has suffered dementia for several years, and her 73-year-old husband, Agostino Comella, admitted to police that he had grown "increasingly frustrated being the sole caretaker and provider for his wife," according to an arrest warrant affidavit. WOOD TV

There's still time . . . and plenty of room!

There’s still time to register for the LIFT Caregiver Summit! And still room for you. If you’ve already registered, download the poster or forward on the link to the brochure to your friends and colleagues. Please help us promote the event! If you have questions, call or email Sharlene: (616) 257-6800, 1-800-968-6086.

Performance art highlights discrimination against the disabled

Disabled artist Liz Crow took to Trafalgar Square wearing a Nazi uniform. According to Disability Arts Online: "Crow's thoughtful piece of work was designed to draw attention to the Nazi programme of killing disabled people, which provided the blueprint for the 'Final Solution'. Crow sees this as having strong current relevance in the context of discussion about pre-natal screenings and assisted suicide." Mad World

Short Cuts on Daily Tasks to Save Time and Energy

Chronic pain blogger Sue Falkner-Wood shares some of the strategies she uses to make everyday tasks more manageable. Everyday Health

Drop Dementia Risk with This Protein

Imagine a brain so uncertain, you have to rely on others to tell you what to do and when to do it. Now imagine a protein source that helps you avoid that scenario. The source? Fish. A recent study suggests that eating fish a few times a week may reduce dementia risk by as much as 19 percent! Real Age

Life Expectancy in the United States is Increasing

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy in the United States as of 2007 averaged 77.9 years, an all time high. Life expectancy for men hit 75.3 years and 80.4 years for women, both record highs for each sex. These figures show that life expectancy has increased 1.4 years in the 10 years since 1997. Everyday Health

More great moments in socialized medicine

A plumber horribly broke his arm 10 months ago and is still waiting for surgery to repair it. Torron Eeles busted his left humerus bone leaving it grotesquely out of shape when he fell down stairs. Today he slammed the NHS for "unacceptable" delays - claiming they have cancelled four separate operations. His arm hangs limply by his side meaning Torron cannot work for a living and now faces the prospect of losing his home. The Sun

Thousands of NHS patients with previously untreatable rheumatoid arthritis could be denied a new 'smart' drug to ease their agony because it is too expensive. . . . The drug has been licensed throughout Europe, but the cost has led the Government's rationing body to issue a preliminary rejection of its use by NHS patients in England. Daily Mail

The Health Benefits of Laughter

Proverbs 17:22 - "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones."

Laughter is a key component of a happy life and it has powerful physical and mental benefits. No matter what you're facing, you can learn to laugh and benefit from its healing ways. Everyday Health, Science Daily, Clean Joke of the Day

CT doctors file suit to allow assisted suicide

Two southwestern Connecticut doctors said Wednesday that they are suing the state to allow them to provide "aid in dying" for mentally competent, terminally ill patients. Dr. Gary Blick, a Norwalk physician, and Dr. Ron Levine, of Greenwich, said during a news conference in the state Capitol that "terminal sedation," the only legal treatment for them to offer, is inappropriate. Connecticut Post

Whose Right to Die?

In this 1997 article, Ezekiel Emanuel, President Obama's healthcare advisor, seems to spell out why he opposes assisted suicide and involuntary euthanasia. In the end, however, he argues that "in exceptional cases interventions are appropriate, as acts of desperation." There's probably not a single case that could not be deemed exceptional. The Atlantic

Great moments in socialized medicine: Grandmother dies of ovarian cancer after being sent home FIVE times

Barbara Collins, 68, was bed ridden for months with agonising pain and bowel problems, classic signs of the killer disease, but sent home with only laxatives. The mother of four was correctly diagnosed with ovarian cancer a staggering four months after her first visit to Manchester Royal Infirmary, and died 10 days later. Daily Mail

Alzheimer's Disease Stages

There are typically seven stages of Alzheimer's disease. As a caregiver, do you know what to expect? Everyday Health

Tender Loving Care for Dry Skin

Dry, itchy skin is a common side effect of both chemotherapy and radiation — simple care tips can help. Everyday Health

End-of-Life Decisions in Dutch Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine:

Setting: The 10 neonatal intensive care units in the Netherlands from October 2005 to September 2006.

Patients: All 367 newborn infants who died in the first 2 months of life in Dutch neonatal intensive care units. Adequate documentation was available in 359 deaths.

Results: An end-of-life decision preceded death in 95% of cases, and in 5% treatment was continued until death. Of all of the deaths, 58% were classified as having no chance of survival and 42% were stabilized newborns with poor prognoses. Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy was the main mode of death in both groups. One case of deliberate ending of life was found. In 92% of newborns with poor prognoses, end-of-life decisions were based on patients' future quality of life and mainly concerned future suffering. Considerations regarding the infant's present state were made in 44% of infants.

Conclusions: Virtually all deaths in Dutch neonatal intensive care units are preceded by the decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment and many decisions are based on future quality of life. The decision to deliberately end the life of a newborn may occur less frequently than was previously assumed.

Editor: The main researcher, Dr. Eduard Verhagen, has spoken about his experiences as a doctor who administers lethal injections to babies in this Times Online article: 'In the baby's last seconds you see the pain relax and then they fall asleep.' How objective is he in this study? And how does he differentiate between 'deliberate ending of life' and 'withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy'? See also Conflicts About End-of-Life Decisions in NICUs in the Netherlands.

How to Be a Friend During a Health Crisis

Someone you know is dealing with a serious health issue — what can you do to help? Our Organized Care giver blogger offers her advice. Everyday Health

Protecting Your Patient in the Hospital

Overworked caregivers in hospitals and inexperienced medical staff can be at the root of hospita l errors. Lynda Shrager gives tips on how to be vigilant so that mistakes are not made on your patient. Everyday Health

Family of suicidal woman to sue hospital

The parents of Kerrie Wooltorton, 26, are also calling for an urgent change in the law to stop rules which gave the terminally ill the right to decline treatment being used by those wanting to kill themselves. Wooltorton swallowed anti-freeze and presented a suicide note asking doctors not to save her life. The doctors followed her request, claiming that her wishes were legally binding. Telegraph

Is there an essential difference between suicide and assisted suicide?

About 32,000 suicides occur in the United States each year, but a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration indicates that many more give the idea serious thought. In the face of all of this despair, what is the message of the assisted suicide movement? That killing yourself is a right and proper means of ending your suffering. Some advocates say this is “only” for the terminally ill. But suffering people are not going to hear the message that suicide is okay–but only if you have cancer. Secondhand Smoke

Health bill's deadly fine print

During the continuous, extensive coverage of this proposed legislation, there has been only very limited mention – and none I've seen in the mainstream press – of a section that penalizes doctors for Medicare patients who, for at least five years (from 2015 to 2020), authorize total treatments that wind up in the top 10 percent of national annual Medicare costs per patient. The 1 in 10 Medicare doctors who spend beyond this limit will themselves lose 5 percent of their own total Medicare reimbursements. Considering the already low rates Medicare doctors get – and the president pledges they will get lower – this could be a heavy penalty. Nat Hentoff

Conditional Consciousness: Patients in Vegetative States Can Learn, Predicting Recovery

Brain-damaged patients who appear to have lost signs of conscious awareness might still be able to create new memories, showing signs of new neural networks and potential for partial recovery. Scientific American

Options for Extra Care: Nursing Homes and Hospice Facilities

The services offered by nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or hospice are all very different. Find out more about each one and the costs associated with them. CarePages

Choosing a Nursing Home

If you're evaluating nursing homes for a loved one, there are many things to consider and a lot of questions to ask. Everyday Health

Tips to Avoid Compassion Fatigue

Blogger Julie Rosen provides tips on how to care for yourself during stressful times. Now she wants to know what you do to keep yourself sane, engaged, and compassionate in your work and life. Everyday Health

Lung Cancer: 7 Steps for Managing Fear

Are you constantly distracted, angry, or irritable? Do you feel tension in your muscles? These may be signs of fear — a common emotion for those diagnosed with lung cancer or any other cancer. Everyday Health

Palliative carers should pay more attention to hydration

In my experience on geriatric wards terminal delirium was vanishingly rare, perhaps because my patients were not left in a dehydrated state. In the early 1990s Bruera and colleagues in Canada found that the incidence of terminal delirium in cancer patients can be reduced by two thirds if dehydration is prevented and care taken with opioid medication. Times Online

UK to Clarify Assisted-Suicide Prosecutions

The assisted-suicide debate will come to a head in Britain this week, as the country's chief prosecutor clarifies the circumstances under which the state will prosecute families for helping terminally ill loved ones to die. Assisting a suicide will remain illegal, as it has been since 1961. But supporters of assisted suicide say they hope the new guidelines will make it easier for families to avoid prosecution when they help a parent, spouse or sibling to die and are clearly acting out of compassion and not malice or in search of financial gain. WSJ

MS Events: Good for What Ails You

Every time I attend an MS event, be it a walk, a luncheon, gala dinner, an educational program, or what have you, I feel better! Maybe it’s because I see old friends. Maybe it’s because I see scads of folks living with multiple sclerosis not just having multiple sclerosis, but living with our disease. Everyday Health

Why Do Some MS Patients Fare Better?

Researchers have identified two genes that may explain why MS affects some more than others. Everyday Health

Fibromyalgia: 25 Weeks to Better Health

Blogger Leslie Patino recalls what were probably her first symptoms of fibromyalgia and how her life has changed since then. Everyday Health

Helping a Loved One Cope With Chronic Pain

If someone close to you has fibromyalgia, a condition that causes pain and tenderness throughout the body, there are things you can do to help. Everyday Health

Common Sense Tips to Help Caregivers Cope

Being a family caregiver can put enormous strain on your time and energy. Blogger Vidya Sury, who looks after her ill mother, offers her suggestions to beat caregiver guilt and manage your time better. Everyday Health

Taking care of parents without going broke

About 30 percent of adult children in the United States contribute financially to their parents’ care, according to the Pew Research Center. This article describes how to begin to take advantage of the hundreds of government and nonprofit programs and services geared to the elderly throughout the country. NY Times

End-of-life care: Who decides when to pull the plug?

The notion that a patient or family member can require any type of care, regardless of its propriety, has long been disavowed by the American Medical Association. The AMA's Code of Medical Ethics has recognized this principle since at least 1994, when it published an opinion that states: "Physicians are not ethically obligated to deliver care that, in their best professional judgment, will not have a reasonable chance of benefitting their patients. Patients should not be given treatments simply because they demand them." In the same opinion, however, the AMA also found that "Denial of treatment should be justified by reliance on openly stated ethical principles and acceptable standards of care . . . not on the concept of 'futility,' which cannot be meaningfully defined." Modern Medicine

Change needed in attitude to end-of-life care

An international expert on death and dying has warned that, unless there is a major change of political attitude toward end-of-life care policy in the developed world “we will see a return to the widespread social neglect of the dying we first witnessed in our hospitals after [the second] World War.” Irish Times

Euthanasia for Ireland?

The Law Reform Commission of Ireland is recommending legislation which would allow euthanasia by denial of food, fluids and reasonable medical treatment. The Commission's proposals mirror almost exactly the British government's Mental Capacity Act 2005. SPUC

Diagnosing Dementia Sooner

World Alzheimer's Day is September 21 — and this year's theme is the importance of getting diagnosed as early as possible. Everyday Health

Cases of euthanasia jump in Belgium after new law

Cases of euthanasia in Belgium's Flanders region soared to nearly 2 percent of all deaths in 2007 after the country legalized the practice a few years earlier. A survey, conducted by an end-of-life research group at the Brussels-based Free University, said the rise was mainly due to Belgium's 2002 euthanasia law, which gave terminally ill patients more choices. News Tribune, Secondhand Smoke

Are PAS stats in Washington state reliable?

Compassion and Choices of Washington, the advocacy group that campaigned for Washington's assisted suicide law, says that of 28 Washington residents who requested drugs to kill themselves, 11 patients have used the medication to end their lives. However, the first report from the Washington state health department reported that since assisted suicide became legal in March 2009, there have been 28 requests for lethal drugs in Washington state with 16 people having died. Alex Schadenberg, the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said he is very concerned that the euthanasia lobby group has more information about the assisted suicides in the state than does the government. "This indicates that Compassion & Choices of Washington is the gate-keeper of the Death With Dignity Act in Washington state in the same way as Compassion & Choices of Oregon is the gate-keeper of the act in their state." LifeSiteNews

‘Dr. Death’ Nitschke Sells Euthanasia to China

For more than a decade, Philip Nitschke says he taught thousands in the Western world how to end their lives “without making a mess of it.” Now, he wants to bring that knowledge to China, where even the talk of death is taboo. Bloomberg

The cost of dying: How much is worth it?

A quarter of Medicare's costs, about $100 billion a year, is spent in the final year of patients' lives. Nearly half of that is spent in their final month. Who should pay, and how much life-prolonging care is worth it? Indianapolis Star

Taming technology

Medical technology saves lives and relieves suffering, and is enormously popular with the public, profitable for doctors, and a source of great wealth for industry. Yet its costs are rising at a dangerously unsustainable rate. In Taming the Beloved Beast, esteemed medical ethicist Daniel Callahan confronts this dilemma head-on. He argues that we can't escape it by organizational changes alone. Nothing less than a fundamental transformation of our thinking about health care is needed to achieve lasting and economically sustainable reform. The technology bubble, he contends, is beginning to burst. Hastings Center

Last-Resort Options for Palliative Sedation

Despite receiving state-of-the-art palliative care, some patients still experience severe suffering toward the end of life. Palliative sedation is a potential way to respond to such suffering, but access is uneven and unpredictable, in part because of confusion about different kinds of sedation. Annals of Internal Medicine

Report warns doctors snub families of the terminally ill amid growing use of 'death pathway'

A national audit of 4,000 patients put on the Liverpool Care Pathway last year has found that more than a quarter of families are not told when life support is withdrawn from terminally-ill loved ones. Under the Pathway, doctors can withdraw food and fluids from terminally-ill patients and sedate them continuously until death. Peter Millard, emeritus professor of geriatrics at the University of London, said: 'The risk as this is rolled out across the country is that elderly people with chronic conditions like Parkinson's or respiratory disorders may be dismissed as dying when they could still live for some time ... Only when death is unavoidable should you start withdrawing treatment.' Daily Mail

Liar, Liar

If we believe the president when he promises there will be no "death panels," does he lose honesty points when instead the government sends doctors who "counsel" the elderly about their "end of life options"? If bureaucrats end up rationing care so that only the "fit" or "near fit" still young enough to keep producing tax revenue receive treatment, does this weaken the president's credibility? Cal Thomas

Coping With Your Spouse's MS Diagnosis

Living with MS will be different from your life before, but strategies for adjusting are plentiful. Everyday Health

Tips to Avoid a Serious Fall

When you live with a chronic illness, a fall could make things a whole lot worse. These tips can help you make your home a safe environment. Everyday Health

Recognizing Depression in Older Adults

Once depression is distinguished from other diseases, like dementia, treatment can help restore quality of life for mature adults. Everyday Health

28 People Have Requested Assisted Suicide Drugs in Washington Since March

The first report from the state health department in Washington finds 28 people requested assisted suicide drugs since the new law allowing the practice went into effect in March. The new figures show 16 of the patients have since died, though she state won't say if they died from natural causes or using the barbiturates. A pro-euthanasia group says it knows of 11 people who have killed themselves so far. LifeNews

You Really Don't Know Jack

Fox News' Neil Cavuto last week introduced Kevorkian as a "Michigan physician who claims to have assisted in the suicides of at least 130 terminally ill people from 1990 to 1998."
Physician? Not the kind who treats patients. As for the risible notion that his victims were terminally ill, well, it collapses in the harsh light of a New England Journal of Medicine analysis of the autopsies of 69 Kevorkian cases. . . . President Obama cannot be happy that Kevorkian gave a quasi-endorsement of ObamaCare. "The death panel makes it sound so negative," he grimaced. In the same hour, Kevorkian spoke up for Michael Jackson's doctor, as he dryly observed, "The patient got what he wanted." JWR

Why the assisted-suicide movement is winning

The assisted-suicide movement has come a long way in just a couple of decades. . . . When members of the social and political elite associate themselves with assisted-suicide groups as openly as they would with charities like the United Way, we have reached a new cultural moment. National Review; see also The Creeping Culture of Euthanasia

The Netherlands: A good bad example

With the Administration struggling to assure millions of worried Americans that Obamacare will not unleash such a culture of death, it seems exceedingly odd that at a recent town meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado, the president would tout the Netherlands' health care system as a "good example" for America to emulate. . . . [G]iven the widespread public fear that Obamacare will destroy Hippocratic medical values, it is very odd that the president would pick that particular country as a template for emulation. To the Source

Daughter claims father wrongly placed on controversial NHS end of life scheme

A woman says her father Eric Troake, who entered hospital after suffering a stroke, had fluid and drugs withdrawn and she claims doctors wanted to put him on morphine until he passed away under a scheme for dying patients called the Liverpool Care Pathway. Rosemary Munkenbeck said her father, who previously said he wanted to live until he was 100, has now said he wants to die after being deprived of fluids for five days. Telegraph

Daughter claims father wrongly placed on controversial NHS end of life scheme

A woman says her father Eric Troake, who entered hospital after suffering a stroke, had fluid and drugs withdrawn and she claims doctors wanted to put him on morphine until he passed away under a scheme for dying patients called the Liverpool Care Pathway. Rosemary Munkenbeck said her father, who previously said he wanted to live until he was 100, has now said he wants to die after being deprived of fluids for five days. Telegraph

Bereaved mother campaigns against medical guidelines that allow premature babies to die

A mother whose prematurely-born boy died after being denied treatment has condemned guidelines given to doctors. Jayden was denied treatment because he was born earlier than 22 weeks, the cut-off point for treatment under the guidelines. His mother claimed that doctors told her that Jayden "hasn't got a human right, he is a foetus." She went on to say, "The doctors say the babies won't survive, but how do they know if they aren't giving them a chance?" Telegraph

Keeping the Caregiver Healthy

Everyday Health member GoodLuck57 is caring for her mom, who has Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, she's looking to lose weight and become a healthier person. Everyday Health blog

Even Mild Infections Hasten Decline With Alzheimer's

In this new study, researchers found that Alzheimer's patients who had respiratory, gastrointestinal or other infections -- even minor bumps and bruises -- can have high levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), in their blood. TNF-a is a protein linked to inflammation, and has been associated with memory loss or other types of cognitive decline. Everyday Health

The Unwitting Birthplace of the 'Death Panel' Myth

La Crosse, Wisconsin, often shows up on "best places to live" lists, but residents say it is also a good place to die -- which is how it landed in the center of a controversy that almost derailed health-care reform this summer. Gundersen Lutheran Hospital has long been a pioneer in ensuring that the care provided to patients in their final months complies with their wishes. More recently, it has taken the lead in seeking to have Medicare compensate physicians for advising patients on end-of-life planning. The hospital got its wish this spring when House Democrats inserted that provision into their health-care reform bill -- only to see former Alaska governor Sarah Palin seize on it as she warned about "death panels" that would deny care to the elderly and the disabled. Washington Post

Choosing Thomas

Facing death can be hardest for a family expecting new life. Follow T.K. and Deidrea Lauxs journey after they learn that their unborn son has a genetic disorder called Trisomy 13. They hope the intimate look helps others understand and cope with infant loss. YouTube

The Dutch Way of Death: Socialized medicine helped turn doctors into killers

On a Monday morning that he will never forget, Dr. Niko Wolswinkel's patient, a 77-year old woman dying from cancer, asked him to kill her. As a purely legal matter, he knew he could do it, but he searched his conscience. He couldn't bring himself to kill his patient; doctors are supposed to be healers, not killers. And, as a Christian, he believed it was wrong to take into his hands the power of God. A few days later, his patient died naturally. Wall Street Journal past featured article

Neonatologist Need Training to Guide Family Decision-Making for Critically Ill Infants

This study concludes that graduating neonatology fellows are highly trained in the technical skills necessary to care for critically ill and dying neonates but are inadequately trained in the communication skills that families identify as critically important when facing end-of-life decisions. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine

The Steps of Coping With Grief

Guilt, sadness, anger, denial — these are just some of the emotions present during the grieving process. After a traumatic event, it's important to give your mind and body time to heal. Everyday Health

Related: When extended grief becomes depression

Watch Your Step: The Dangers of Falling

As blogger Sue Falkner-Wood notes, falling can be a serious matter for people with chronic health conditions: "Many of us are not as sure-footed as we used to be and must be more careful than the general population." Everyday Health

Smoking Worsens Multiple Sclerosis

Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to be at higher risk for the brain lesions linked with the disease and for brain shrinkage, new research suggests. Everyday Health

Honest Answers About Life With Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis blogger Trevis Gleason writes, "For those of you just joining, I posted a blog topic that allowed you (the MS community) to post any questions you might wish to ask me about my multiple sclerosis via the comment section." Everyday Health

'Crisis' over terminally-ill care

Official [UK] guidelines are causing a crisis in care of the terminally ill and growing anger among patients' families, medical experts say. The advice allows food and fluids to be withdrawn from patients, who are then continuously sedated, if they are judged to be close to death. BBC

Kevorkian movie, starring Al Pacino, Out Next Year

Jack Kevorkian is at it again promoting euthanasia. Meanwhile, the movie that will glorify his life and his killing of dozens and dozens of people will debut next year. Kevorkian wrote a book during his time in prison and the manuscript has been turned into an upcoming HBO movie entitled "You Don't Know Jack." Al Pacino plays Kevorkian in a role he says he appreciates. "It's an honor," Kevorkian said. "He looks exactly like me." LifeNews
Editor: How can Pacino look exactly like Kevorkian when Kevorkian looks nothing like Al Pacino?

Father's 'final days of agony'

A daughter has described how her father spent his final days in agony at a Sheffield hospital after being denied adequate pain relief. Thomas Milner was 76 and being treated for end-stage leukaemia and was not given enough top-up morphine to relieve his symptoms. Mrs. Brooks said initial hospital treatment for her father was good but he later suffered unnecessarily from not having enough medication. She said he was given 10 milligrams of morphine over 55 hours, which she said an independent doctor has since told her is a "pitiful" amount for a patient with a terminal illness. Sheffield Telegraph

Sentenced to death on the NHS

Patients with terminal illnesses are being made to die prematurely under an NHS scheme to help end their lives, leading [UK] doctors have warned. Telegraph

Montana's top court to hear right-to-die arguments

Today the Montana State Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on whether the state should allow for legal assisted suicide. The case grew out of a decision late last year by an activist Montana District judge, Dorothy McCarter, who ruled in favor of the suit filed by the pro-euthanasia organization the Hemlock Society, now known as Compassion and Choices. The case will have an impact on the health care debate currently embroiling our nation's capital. CNN, Alliance Defense Fund

Journal blames people "who want to live" for confusion on assisted suicide

An editorial appearing in the prestigious British Medical Journal blames disabled people "who want to live" for the difficulties surrounding the debate in the UK on assisted suicide. Tony Delamothe, deputy editor of the BMJ, bluntly admitted that he is in favour of assisted suicide.
"The debate on assisted dying has been hijacked by disabled people who want to live. It needs to be reclaimed for terminally ill people who want to die." LifeSiteNews