Caring for a Dying Relative

Few things in life can be more challenging and daunting than knowing that a relative has a fatal illness and wants to spend as much time as possible at home. The carers need to know how to cope with this responsibility, how to cooperate with the professionals involved, and how to ensure that the final months are lived to the full, relieved of suffering an in dignity. Various chapters in this book, written in simple and non-medical language, discuss physical, emotional, and spiritual problems; the planning of care; agencies able to help; grief and bereavement; cooperating with doctors; visiting in hospitals; modern hospice care; and the needs of carers themselves. Comprehensive but easy to read and refer to, this book embodies all the essentials and sensitive insights of the hospice movement as they relate both to care at home and in hospitals and hospices. Confronted with the realization that someone you love has a fatal illness and wants to be nursed at home, you need to know what to expect, how to help, how to cope with your own feelings and fears, and how to cooperate with doctors to provide the best possible care for your relative.
This book is intended for all those looking after someone at home who has a terminal illness; primary care teams.