dying (redirected from until dying day)

Dying

A poorly understood phenomenon characterised by a gradual systemic shutdown, followed by an absence of criteria that define life; dying and death eventually occur in the elderly, even without identifiable disease

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dying [di´ing]

the last stage of life; a process that from a medical point of view begins when a person has a disorder that is untreatable and inevitably ends in death, or the final stages of a fatal disease. Dying is a process, whereas death is an event. The essential task of the dying person is to work through psychologic responses toward the reality of approaching death to a final and peaceful acceptance of that reality.

Stages of Dying. Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist, formulated a stage theory of dying. These stages represent the adaptive strategies of a dying person who is trying to come to grips with the finality of his or her terminal illness. Not every dying person proceeds through these stages in accordance with the proposed sequence; many alternate between one stage and another. Sometimes a patient will appear to have moved toward acceptance only to regress toward denial in response to some event. Dying is unique to the individual; no two people have the same life experiences or the same inner resources to deal with the vagaries of life and its inevitable end. However, being aware of what people who confront death have in common can be of benefit to those who care for them throughout the dying process.

The stages proposed by Kübler-Ross are not limited to adaptation to dying; they may also apply to anyone who has to deal with profound, unwanted change. Every change involves some loss, the end of something familiar and the beginning of something new. Unhappiness with the change can trigger denial and other psychologic responses that delay acceptance. The stages are denial and disbelief, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Dr. George Engel proposed the theory that grief over the loss of a loved one brings about psychologic responses not too different from those exhibited by persons who are themselves dying. Moreover, it has been noted that severely handicapped and disabled persons who must change their lifestyle to accommodate the effects of illness or injury might also go through a process in which they move toward acceptance of a new self and a new way of life.

John Bowlby and C. Murray Parkes also described stages of grief, outlining four dimensions: (1) shock and numbness, (2) yearning and searching, (3) disorientation and disorganization, and (4) resolution and reorganization. These do not follow any particular order, and the stages may overlap.

Partnership for Caring is an educational council that provides programs tailored to meet the needs of laypersons and professional caregivers coping with the problems of terminal care. It also is the source of the Living Will and addresses legal and medical issues related to death and dying. Their mailing address is Partnership for Caring, 1620 Eye Street NW, Suite 202, Washington DC 20006, and their Internet web site is http://www.partnershipforcaring. org. Their telephone numbers are 202-296-8071 and 800-989-9455.

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dying

General medicine A poorly understood phenomenon characterized by a gradual systemic shutdown, followed by an absence of criteria that define life; dying and death eventually occur in the elderly, even without identifiable disease. Cf Brain death, DNR, Hospice.

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Patient discussion about dying.

Q. God! I want to die! First of all I would like to thank you all for this website - and for all your posts - it´s very supporting. Now, my story... I have Bipolar II I´ve always had been a sort of depressed / concerned during my childhood. When I was about 14 I felt something different: I felt sort of high - I was no longer shy - I did well at school and I was so happy with a great self-confidence. After two year that changed and I got depressed – school results became poorer. Got other physical illnesses - I was diagnosed chronic inflammation of the eyes - no treatment helped. Shifted to a new country was happy for a while but again started depressing. Inflammations of the eyes got better. I was happy and I was sad and so on... My father could see a strange activity in my eyes and irritability combined with deep depression. It’s Bipolar disorder. After 2 years I felt good so I stayed away from med. God! I really want to die. Thank you for your patience to hear this patient!

A. Thank you William for sharing your story. You have people in your life and here that care about you. Please seek medical help. There are plenty of resources available to you, all you have to do is seek the help... start with your gp.. ask for a referal to a councellor and a psychiatrist.... If you are in desperate need of help and feel suicidal now go tothe emergency center of your local hospital. They have people on site that can help you right now...
Take care!

Q. My grandfather died of lung cancer because of smoking. what is the probability of me getting a cancerous tumor? What procedure is done to see if a tumor is malignant? Is a simple MRI enough to make that conclusion?

A. Sad.. my brother in law died from smoking, few years ago.
Regardless of family history, smoking is not exactly helthy and does contribute to lung cancer.
Even though the role of heredity in lung cancer is not as well-known, having a family history of lung cancer does increase our risk to some degree. Hereditary lung cancer is higher in women, nonsmokers and those with early onset lung cancer (lung cancer that occurs before the age of 60). Overall, it has been estimated that 1.7% of lung cancers up to the age of 68 are hereditary.

Q. My grandfather died of lung cancer because of smoking. what is the probability that I'll get lung cancer as well? My Grandfather was a regular smoker, he died two year ago because of lung cancer. I also smoke and I want to know that if i have a hinge probability to have cancer like that.

A. Anybody who smokes has a higher risk for lung cancer, regardless of family history, but with your family history smoking will very much increase your risk. Smoking increases your risk for lung cancer by about 23 times. And now days with all the pollution around us- could be a lot faster then your grandfather,
I would quit smoking if you want to see your children grow up.