Maxfacts

Palliative & end of life care

In this section we address the practical applications of end of life care with an emphasis on oral and facial malignant disease as this is the most likely condition to result in end of life within the maxillofacial area.

Advanced care planning - this would be done (in the UK) with your district nurse and GP; this is a formal document that is shared with any health professional who supports or cares for you.

It is important to understand that this is a document that can be changed as things change for you but it ensures your wishes are known in advance and made at a time when you are in a position to make vital and valid decisions for yourself.

Considerations for advanced care planning

Some of the things considered in the planning include:

Make sure you have all the telephone numbers for everyone involved in your care both in and out of working hours. These might include: GP, district nurse, palliative care team, religious leader – each person has a different belief system which can be vastly different with respect to end of life.

As always, each person and each condition are individual and at this extremely important time of your life the input of the professionals who are caring for you is vital.

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