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Deciding about treatments that prolong life
Palliative care - treatments that prolong life; Palliative care - life support; End-of-life-treatments that prolong life; Ventilator - treatments that prolong life; Respirator - treatments that prolong life; Life-support - treatments that prolong life; Cancer - treatments that prolong life
Life-sustaining Treatments
Sometimes after injury or a long illness, the main organs of the body no longer work properly without support. Your health care provider may tell you that these organs will not repair themselves.
Medical care to prolong life can keep you alive when these organs stop working well. The treatments extend your life, but DO NOT cure your illness. These are called life-sustaining treatments.
Treatments to extend life can include the use of machines. This equipment does the work of the body organ, such as:
- A machine to help with breathing ( ventilator )
-
A machine to help your kidneys (
dialysis
)
Dialysis
Artificial kidneys - hemodialysis; Dialysis; Renal replacement therapy - hemodialysis; End-stage renal disease - hemodialysis; Kidney failure - hemod...
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A tube into your stomach to provide food (
nasogastric
or
gastrostomy tube
)
Nasogastric
Feeding - nasogastric tube; NG tube; Bolus feeding; Continuous pump feeding; Gavage tube
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleGastrostomy tube
A gastrostomy feeding tube insertion is the placement of a feeding tube through the skin and the stomach wall. It goes directly into the stomach....
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A tube into your vein to provide fluids and medicines (
intravenous, IV tube
)
Intravenous, IV tube
Intravenous means "within a vein. " Most often it refers to giving medicines or fluids through a needle or tube inserted into a vein. This allows th...
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Making the Decision for Yourself
If you are near the end of your life or you have an illness that will not improve, you can choose what kind of treatment you want to receive.
You should know that the illness or the injury is the main cause of the end of life, not the removal of life support equipment.
To help with your decision:
- Talk to your providers to learn about life support care you are receiving or may need in the future.
- Learn about the treatments and how they would benefit you.
- Learn about side effects or problems the treatments might cause.
- Think about the quality of life you value.
- Ask your provider what happens if life support care is stopped or you choose not to start a treatment.
- Find out if you will have more pain or discomfort if you stop life support care.
These can be hard choices for you and those close to you. There is no hard and fast rule about what to choose. People's opinions and choices often change over time.
Making Your Wishes Known
To make sure your wishes are followed:
- Talk to your providers about your choices.
-
Write your decisions in an
advance health care directive
.
Advance health care directive
Living will; Power of attorney; DNR - advance directive; Do not resuscitate - advance directive; Do-not-resuscitate - advance directive; Durable powe...
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Find out about a
do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order
.
Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order
No code; End-of-life; Do not resuscitate; Do not resuscitate order; DNR; DNR order; Advance care directive - DNR; Health care agent - DNR; Health car...
Read Article Now Book Mark Article - Ask someone to be your health care agent or proxy. Be sure this person knows your wishes and if you make any changes in your health care choices.
As your life or health changes, you may also change your health care decisions. You can change or cancel an advanced care directive at any time.
Making the Decision for a Loved one
You may serve as a health care agent or proxy for someone else. In this role you may have to make the decision to start or remove life support machines. It is a very hard decision to make.
If you need to make a decision about stopping treatment for a loved one:
- Talk to your loved one's providers.
- Review the goals of your loved one's medical care.
- Weigh the benefits and burdens of treatments on your loved one's health.
- Think about your loved one's wishes and values.
- Seek advice from other health care professionals, such as a social worker.
- Seek advice from other family members.
References
Arnold R. Care of dying patients and their families. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine . 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 3.
Rakel RE, Trinh TH. Care of the dying patient. In: Rakel RE, Rakel DP, eds. Textbook of Family Medicine . 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 5.
Review Date: 2/6/2016
Reviewed By: Laura J. Martin, MD, MPH, ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Atlanta, GA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
