Dear Judy,
My mother has had cancer for 10 years. She has endured a number of operations, chemo and radiation — only to have her cancer recur each time. She is strong and brave, though.
In September she underwent an operation to remove the pleurisy in her lungs. But she knows the cancer is taking its toll. [...]
Dear Judy,
I have to comment on the drugs/no drugs issue.
I hear these disputes all the time from lay people as well as medical folks. Here’s my take on the matter:
Treat the symptoms that appear – pain, shortness of breath — with the smallest amount of medication that will do the job! No more, no less.
Dying is [...]
Dear Judy,
I’m in a real quandary and I hear you are good at resolving quandaries. Here’s the problem. A really close friend of mine is dating a guy I’ve known for years. In fact we grew up together, and I knew his father when I was a kid, growing up. My mother knew his grandmother [...]
Dear Judy,
My handsome, brilliant 46-year-old brother is dying. He knows it. We all know it. Even my sister-in-law, who isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, knows it. The problem is, she won’t admit it to herself, and she won’t do any of the things she needs to do right now to prepare herself for the [...]
I can’t stress this strongly enough: Whenever you are about to discuss bad news with medical personnel, make certain you have someone along with you — someone rational who comes equipped with a notepad and an excellent memory. Don’t leave home without this person.
Why? Because however intelligent you are, however stoic and philosophical, [...]
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Posted on January 24th, 2009