It’s not unusual for health care team members, whether you’re a physician, nurse, or other valued member of the team, to have difficulty knowing where to start when approaching conversations about end of life. Below…

Hospice is often described in terms of measurable services: pain management, interdisciplinary teams, comfort-focused care, equipment delivered, and hours spent at the bedside. These are accurate, but they capture only the exterior framework. What truly…

As we wrap up 2025, it’s a perfect moment for introspection. We deeply appreciate the insights we’ve gained from you—individuals and communities who have generously shared their experiences with advance care planning discussions. Throughout the…

This past year, I hosted Death Cafés at my college, Duke University. A death cafe is a community gathering where people come together to freely talk about whatever they want related to death and dying,…

Looking for ideas for planning for and promoting National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) in your community? We’ve pulled together some of our most frequently asked questions about planning for NHDD and created a roadmap with specific…

We’ve been married for 21 years so taking care of my husband is not new. But when the surgeon told us that the mass in his pelvis was leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer of the soft…