Are you depending on a living will?

A recent article appearing on CNN.com, Who will make your life-or-death decision? talks about the importance of letting your wishes be known, the importance of your decision-maker, and keeping things up to date as your situation changes. What are your thoughts about what happened when Gary Coleman fell into a coma?

Americans are treated, and overtreated, to death

This article talks about the importance of thinking about our healthcare choices and finding out our treatment options and outcomes. It tells the stories of patients who continue with treatments, often until they die. The article offers a number of possibilities why, even though most of us wish to die at home, we end up dying in a hospital. What would you do if you were faced with a situation similar to one in the article?

Hospice helps patients with chronic heart failure

Originally hospice care served only cancer patients. Now hospice helps people with a variety of end-stage diseases, including dementia, lung disease, ALS, and kidney disease. in the article Home care is helpful for chronic heart failure, a physician explains how hospice can help people suffering with CHF and allow them to remain in their homes. Do you know anyone with CHF who has had experience with hospice?

Did you know that some people"graduate" from hospice care?

A Huffington Post columnist will enroll in hospice with the expectation of getting well enough to "graduate" from the program eventually. Check it out at A Little known Life-saving Medicare Benefit. Do you know anyone who has graduated from hospice?