Introducing Cathleen Fanslow's ""Hope System,"" which incorporates the four stages of hope (hope for cure, for treatment, for prolongation of life, and for peaceful death), this book shows both the living and the dying how to use the power of hope to cope with the inevitable. This powerful and simple system enables families, friends, and professional caregivers to understand and assist the dying on their journey--regardless of their beliefs--by addressing all levels of the experience: physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Concentrating on solutions for the day-to-day emotional needs of the dying, this practical guide also features examples and stories from families that have experienced loss, as well as helpful passages that provide hope throughout the ordeal.

A milestone resource for palliative care nurses that facilitates evidence-based compassionate and humanistic care of the dying A valuable contribution to the evolving field of palliative nursing care. It is authored by a model for this field, Bonnie Freeman, and brings to the bedside what her practice embodies--evidence-based clinically expert care...The CARES tool is a long-needed resource and we are all grateful to the author for moving her passion to paper. It will touch the lives and deaths of patients, families, and the nurses who care for them. --Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FCPN, CHPN Professor and Director, Division of Nursing Research and Education City of Hope National Medical Center From the Foreword This groundbreaking reference for palliative care nurses is the first to provide realistic and achievable evidence-based methods for incorporating compassionate and humanistic care of the dying into current standards of practice. It builds on the author's research-based CARES tool; a reference that synthesizes five key elements demonstrated to enable a peaceful death, as free from suffering as possible: comfort, airway management, management of restlessness and delirium, emotional and spiritual support, and selfcare for nurses. The book describes, step by step, how nurses can easily implement the basic tenets of the CARES tool into their end-of-life practice. It provides a clearly defined plan that can be individualized for each patient and tailored to specific family needs, and facilitates caring for the dying in the most respectful and humane way possible. The book identifies the most common symptom management needs in dying patients and describes, in detail, the five components of the CARES paradigm and how to implement them to enable a peaceful death and minimize suffering. It includes palliative care prompts founded on 29 evidence-based recommendations and the National Consensus Project for Palliative Care Clinical Practice Guidelines. The resource also addresses the importance of the nurse to act as a patient advocate, how to achieve compassionate communication with the patient and family, and barriers and challenges to compassionate care. Case studies emphasize the importance of compassionate nursing care of the dying and how it can be effectively achieved. Key Features: Provides nurses with a clear understanding of the most common needs of the dying and supplies practical applications to facilitate and improve care Clarifies the current and often complex literature on care of the dying Includes case studies illustrating the most common needs of dying patients and how these are addressed effectively by the CARES tool Based on extensive evidence as well as on the National Consensus Project for Palliative Care Clinical Practice Guidelines Bonnie Freeman, DNP, ANP, RN, ACHPN, is an adult nurse practitioner in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. She is involved with treating the symptom management needs of many chronically and terminally ill individuals diagnosed with various forms of cancer. Dr. Freeman trained at such excellent facilities as the in-patient units at San Diego Hospice and the Institute of Palliative Medicine in San Diego, California, and the home care hospice program in Owensboro, Kentucky. While in Kentucky, she completed her advanced practice clinical training for adult nurse practitioners with a specialty focus on palliative care through Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. This program exposed Dr. Freeman to current concepts in caring for the dying, and enhanced her already significant clinical experience caring for dying individuals acquired from over 30 years working in critical care. Dr. Freeman obtained her MSN from Indiana Wesleyan University, and her DNP from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. Contributors Tracey Das Gupta, MN, RN, CON, is director of Interprofessional Practice at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is also the colead of the Quality Dying Initiative with Dr. Jeff Myers. Tracey has been passionate about health care, quality of life, and leadership since becoming a nurse in 1991. Her decision to become a nurse was influenced by her father who lived with muscular dystrophy. Ms. Das Gupta has fulfilled various frontline nursing roles along the continuum of care and has had the opportunity to continue to grow in leadership roles such as educator, professional practice leader, and director of nursing practice. In her current role, she also provides leadership for the development and implementation of Sunnybrook's interprofessional care (IPC) strategy. Margaret Fitch, PhD, MScN, is a nurse researcher and holds an appointment at the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. She also serves as expert lead for cancer survivorship and patient experience for the Person-Centered Perspective Portfolio of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. She is also editor-in-chief for the Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal. Dr. Fitch has an extensive publication record based on her many years of research regarding patient perspectives, coping and adaptation with illness, and screening for psychosocial distress. She has particular expertise in measurement and evaluation, qualitative methods, and knowledge integration. During her career, she has held clinical and administrative positions and has maintained an ongoing role in education of both undergraduate and graduate students and health professionals in practice.

This book provides a guide for grieving youth and adults as well as extensive descriptive lists of recommended professional literature resources. Grief caused by loss is both a very common human experience and a highly individualized one. For example, children experience a number of losses that are unique to their young age—such as sibling and parent death, adoption, or divorce—and should be given special consideration by professionals and parents helping them in these situations. For gay, lesbian, or cohabiting heterosexual couples that suffer the loss of a partner, societal standards often deny the survivors in these relationships the right to grieve. Helping Those Experiencing Loss: A Guide to Grieving Resources is a book like no other, supplying compassionate information for navigating the emotional distress that every man and woman will experience in their lifetime, as well as a comprehensive guide to the literature of bereavement and grieving. It explains the grieving process, interpreting the results of research on the topic in plain language and addressing specific groups: children, young adults, parents who have lost a child, adults who have lost spouses, and the aging population.

The grief books that just "gets it." Each year about eight million Americans suffer the unexpected death of a loved one. For those who face the challenges of sudden death, the classic guide I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye offers a comforting hand to hold, written by two authors who have experienced it firsthand. Acting as a touchstone of sanity through difficult times, this book covers such difficult topics as: The first few weeks Suicide Death of a Child Children and Grief Funerals and Rituals Physical effects Homicide Depression Featured on ABC World News, Fox and Friends and many other shows, this book has offered solace to over eight thousand people, ranging from seniors to teenagers and from the newly bereaved those who lost a loved one years ago. An exploration of unexpected death and its role in the cycle of live, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives. Praise for I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye: "I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to friends and counselors as well."-- Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen "This book, by women who have done their homework on grief... can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief's wilderness. Outstanding references of where to see other help."-- George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist "Finally, you have found a friend who can not only explain what has just occurred, but can take you by the hand and lead you to a place of healing and personal growth...this guide can help you survive and cope, but even more importantly... heal."-- The Rebecca Review "For those dealing with the loss of a loved one, or for those who want to help someone who is, this is a highly recommended read."--Midwest Book Review

With the support of palliative care and hospice a growing number of people are choosing the kinds of experiences they want at the end of life. Massage can offer moments of comfort, wellbeing, and beauty at a challenging time for patients and their loved ones, yet most of us are not prepared with the right skills or knowledge to offer this help. Palliative Touch: Massage for People at the End of Life is written for healthcare providers and complementary therapists who wish to provide safe, comforting touch for people with life-limiting illness, as well as anyone who might wish to support a dying client or loved one to live life to the fullest, right up until the end. Based on more than two decades of field and inpatient hospice experience, this book addresses topics from common end-of-life symptoms and the stages of dying to cultural issues and how these can impact end-of-life care. Readers are guided to engage with the material at whatever level might be appropriate for their needs, with practical tips in every chapter. Beautiful color photographs, actual case studies, and stories from therapists, caregivers, and patients bring this information to life.

With efficiency and a touch of humor, this valuable guidebook offers information on the difficult subject of planning for one's own death or organizing funerals for loved ones. Topics ranging from cremation, burial, caskets, services, and organ donation are explored, and each section offers data, definitions, examples, pros and cons, and helpful worksheets for narrowing down the best options. Numerous sidebars that offer engaging and occasionally bizarre facts on the death industry are also included. Emphasizing practicality and frugality, a bevy of money-saving steps are explored, citing that if smart choices are made beforehand then expensive choices made in grief can be avoided. Ideal for the time-constrained, this comprehensive resource presents fast facts in an easy-to-read format, while helpful links for each topic are compiled in an accompanying website. Readers will benefit from the peace of mind that follows the creation of a structured plan to reduce the financial burdens and emotional distress on loved ones left behind.