Empowering the Dying and the Ones Who Care for Them

My Mom died in 2012 from pancreatic cancer. Her dying was a terrible part of my life and I miss her everyday. You may be surprised though, that the months and years leading to her death were also some of the best times. It gave her, myself and my family the chance to talk about things important to us and gave me the honor of caring for the woman who had cared for me. Death is not fun. It is not wanted. However, it can be a beautiful and significant experience so I was happy to be able to interview Katie Duncan, a death care coach about how we can empower our loved ones and ourselves during this process.

Katie helps families navigate the dying process so they can find the good parts. She is the author of “The Dying Process: Your Essential Guide to Understanding the Signs, Symptoms & Changes At The End of Life”.

Some of the things we discuss during this interview were:

• Opportunities end of life brings to our loved one, for us and our family and friends.
• How to open conversations about end of life.
• The signs and symptoms of end of life.
• Why your loved one may not want or need to eat and how to feel okay about that.

This is not an easy interview to watch. Most likely you are watching it because you are either going through this process or worry about when you might be doing so. I urge you not to be afraid though — the best way to find joy in this process is understanding it and knowing how to work your way through the process and this interview will give you some great insight.