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Imagine a mother who has become ill and has 8 children with 8 different opinions about the kind of medical treatment their mother should have. When a person is not able to communicate in any way, an appointed health care proxy or legal next of kin, which is often but not always a family member, has to make decisions on their behalf. When should I create a living will, and why? Here, you will learn more about what a living will includes and why it may be a part of your care plan, why it is important to create a living will after a diagnosis of cancer, how to go about creating one, and common concerns people have during the process.
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Some of the medical treatments that may be covered in a living will include the use of mechanical ventilation, which is used when a person cannot breathe on their own tube feeding, which is used when a person cannot eat on their own and cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR, which attempts to restore circulation and breathing in a person whose heart has stopped beating. A living will is a legal document that gives people a voice when they might not otherwise be able to express their preferences, including for end-of-life medical treatment. This post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice.Ī person has the right to make medical decisions regarding their health. She has served as an oncology chaplain and was the first palliative care chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital. She received her chaplaincy training from Yale New Haven Hospital and is a board-certified chaplain.
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Jane Jeuland, MDiv, received her Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. He is currently an assistant professor of the Yale palliative care program and practices inpatient and outpatient palliative care. Alex Choi, MD, completed a combined internal medicine-pediatric residency at Stony Brook University Hospital, then an adult palliative care fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital.
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