[Death education as a way to improve the quality of life of cancer patients after a relapse]

Journal/Book: Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 1995; 22 Suppl 1: 22-5.

Abstract: Death education can help cancer patients to live the remaining days of their life more fully and thus can be helpful in improving their quality of life. Death education is not limited to learning only about dying and death. Death will eventually come to every human being; death education tries to teach a person how to live creatively and in a truly human way till the very end and thus can rightly be called life education. Especially after a relapse a cancer patient experiences an increase of fear and anxiety towards death. Death education can help to recognize the different types of fear and anxiety and to reduce exaggerated fear to a normal level. In order to achieve a death with dignity there is a need for total pain control; total pain includes physical, psychological, social and spiritual pain. Death education also teaches about music therapy, bibliotherapy, and art therapy as valuable elements in the care for the total person. Important aspects of total care are informed consent, informed choice and good communication between patient, family and medical staff. A warm relationship of trust is essential in the endeavor to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.

Keyword(s): Anxiety ; English Abstract; Fear ; Grief Breast Neoplasms psychology; Death ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local psychology; Patient Education; Quality of Life Female; Human

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