Facing Challenges at Death's Door Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Facing Challenges at Death's Door - Essay Example This paper seeks to discuss some of the challenges that a dying patient, the patient’s family, and caregivers may face during the dying process and measures that I can take, as a caregiver, to address the challenges. Challenges for the dying patient and possible measures for addressing the challenges People who undergo natural death experience a process that precedes their death. The ultimate stage of death is sometimes defined for patients, especially those who suffer from chronic diseases. Lost hope among the patients may also present the perception that death is imminent and the patients begin to await their death. The time towards death and the exact time of death offer many challenges to patients and pain is one of the major challenges that patients face in the dying process. Most of the diseases that cause death destabilizes patient’s biological system and results in discomfort. Some diseases such as cancer are for example reported with extreme level of pain that patients have to endure as they await death. At advanced level of cancer, for example, there is a probability that 90 percent of patients suffer from extreme level of pain. Pain also induces other challenges to the patients and this identifies its significance. It also causes or moderates depression among patients and may even lead to suicide. Depression is another major challenge that dying patients face and majorly results from diseases with extreme levels of pain. At least 60 percent of cancer patients, for example, suffer from depression and a significant percentage of victims of the chronic disease, almost half, report cases of psychological disorder. Depression is common among dying patients because of its diverse causes that may range from pain, anxiety, neglect, and loss of control of life. Identified effects of depression, in healthy an unhealthy people, also identifies its significance as a challenge to dying patients. A study of diabetes mellitus patients, which can be in ferred to patients with other terminal illnesses and especially in their dying stages, established that depression has adverse effects on patients’ quality of life but dying patients needs a high quality of life as a measure to overcoming their pain and the reality of death. The high incidence of pain, depression and their dependence on other conditions that the patients face, and their effects on the patients’ condition identify pain and depression as the major challenges that dying patients face (Woo, Maytal and Stern, 2006; Eren, Erdi and Sahin, 2008). Maintaining hope in the patient’s life is the most suitable way for addressing the pain and depression issues. Treating the dying patient as though they do not suffer from terminal conditions, managing their pain, and offering emotional support is likely to develop the patients’ positive attitude and reduce their psychological pain. Effective care and strong relations with the patients can achieve such o ptimism. Some level of pain, such as in advanced stages of cancer my however fail to respond to such measures and a patient’s poor attitude towards the dying process may also undermine