Hi everybody, Clayton Vandiver, your Lightkeeper
here, and for this summer we have a real treat
for you. Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. No, that's
not a new clothing line. What it is, is short
versions of some of our most popular episodes
that we keep getting requests to show you again.
So we've cut them down, made them all less than
10 minutes long, and here you go with part one
of the Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. Hi, and welcome
to this edition of the Light Keepers podcast.
I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Light Keeper, with
the show dedicated to everyone who wants to get
the most out of life that they can. We don't
talk about the end of life. We talk about the
quality of life. My co -host on this episode,
Charlene, a licensed clinical social worker in
the state of Florida, is going to be talking
with us today about palliative care. hospice.
It isn't just for the end of days. It isn't just
for the last few hours. And that's going to be
very, very interesting to learn more about. Also,
we're going to be talking about advanced directives
on this edition of the Light Keepers podcast.
Before we start, I'd like to invite you to please
leave your questions or comments below. We love
to hear from you, and every week we answer those
questions and comments that appear online every
Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. And last
week we had a question, Charlene, from one of
our listeners. It was on one of our RSS feeds.
We're on every podcast feed for audio and also
on YouTube for video. But we had someone send
in a question and it was about, what was our
subject last week? Last week it was about DNR.
DNR. They were asking what, if we would define
frail, how frail do you have to be for DNR not
to be, well, to be considered? So frail can have
a lot of different definitions depending on.
where you are in life but most of the time in
the medical world when we're talking about frail
we're talking about someone who has a compromised
immune system someone who is frequently sick
a lot of hospitalizations someone whose body
is not strong enough to be able to withstand
something that can be as violent as CPR. I understand.
We talked a lot about the measures that happen
when you don't have a DNR in place and the most
ideal times to have them. And being frail is
certainly one of them. I hope that helps you
and your loved one. And of course, please send
those questions and comments to us because that
dialogue, that communication is exactly how we
can help you the best. Of course, this is just
a conversation. Go to yourownpersonalcare .com
personal medical team, financial advisors, whoever
it is that helps you and knows your particular
needs the best. That's who you actually need
to seek counsel from. We just put ideas in your
head to be thinking about so that you know the
right questions to ask when the time comes. The
Light Keepers podcast is an exclusive production
of Guiding Light Incorporated. We'll tell you
more about a guiding light at the end of the
show, but we don't have much time. We want to
get right into palliative care, hospice, all
of the things that we are talking about this
week in a sort of a free -flowing conversation.
So we're not sure where this is going to take
us. Tell us more about the difference between
palliative care and hospice. So there is a difference
and that's something that a lot of people don't
realize. Palliative care is when you have an
illness that can be considered terminal, can
be considered life limiting, but you're not ready
to stop treatment yet. So when you have someone
who is in palliative care, this is someone who
wants to be comfortable, wants to focus on relieving
those symptoms. but also wants to continue receiving
treatment and, you know, not ready to go to hospice
yet. And hospice is basically where you're focused
on managing the symptoms, focusing on being comfortable,
and you've stopped treatment. You've made that
decision that you don't want the chemotherapy
anymore. You don't want the radiation anymore.
And you just want to basically make the best
of the time that you have. I understand. You
receive hospice care. Most people assume, I believe,
that you just go in for the last few days or
last few hours of your life. That is so true.
That is so true. And it's such a sad assumption
because there's so many people out there that
could be receiving better care and their families
could be receiving better support if they had
known that hospice was for more than just the
last few days. What other sort of services does
hospice provide? Well, your basic hospice team
usually includes a physician, someone who is
signing the orders for you to get the medication
that you need. It includes a nurse, someone who
comes out to check on you and make sure that
the medications that you're being prescribed
are working. Okay. And it includes a CNA, an
aide, someone who comes out and helps with your
personal care needs like bathing and shampooing.
There's also a social worker that makes sure
that your family is being well supported and
making sure that there are no gaps in resources.
And then there's usually also a chaplain, some
sort of spiritual support, if desired by the
family. Well, of course, this sort of begs the
question, how early then could someone become
into the hospice care system so that they could
receive? So I know a lot of folks, a lot of caregivers,
a lot of families are concerned with where do
they find a lot of these services that you just
mentioned? And they could be provided for them,
but how early, how soon, and when do you qualify?
So in the United States, in order to meet the
criteria to be eligible for hospice, you have
to have a terminal diagnosis. This means a diagnosis
that with or without treatment is going to cause
the end of your life. Within six months or less,
and that has to be certified by two different
physicians. Well, six months is a lot longer
time than most people that I've spoken with know
that they could get into the hospice system and
receive all of those helps, those assistances.
Correct. Most people who come on to hospice services...
come on to hospice services within the last month
of their life. And that's five more months that
they could have been receiving better symptom
management, better care, and their family could
have been receiving better support. Well, one
very interesting... piece of trivia that I've
stumbled across. A lot of folks tell me that
when a family member goes into hospice, they
actually begin to get a little bit better. They
do. How does that work? That can happen. That
can happen. And there's actually a lot of different
reasons behind it. So let's... Say, for example,
you have someone with a diagnosis of cancer,
which cancer is a very common diagnosis that
leads to hospice care. It's a major malady that
many families share. So you have someone who's
been going through chemotherapy. They've been
going through radiation. They've been in intense
pain. They've been sick. So they've been in this
situation where they've been struggling, and
they've been fighting, and they're worn down.
And then they enter hospice. There's no more
chemotherapy. There's no more radiation. There's
no more hospitalizations where someone's coming
in every 15 minutes to poke you, to prod you,
to monitor you, to inject you with something.
You're at home. You're being given medication
to alleviate the pain. you're allowed to be comfortable
and rest. So basically the things that were making
the greatest impact on your life and wearing
down your reserve strengths are all alleviated
and you're just there to rest, relax and be pain
-free. Correct. As much as is possible. Correct.
And a lot of times when people hear that, they
jump to the other end of the spectrum in assumptions,
which is that hospice kills people. And that's
not true. That is actually fueled by the fact
that most people enter hospice at the very end.
They're already at the end of their life. So
they come on hospice and within a few weeks they
die. And so people think, oh, hospice killed
them. Well, no, truth is. they were just going
through the natural progression of their illness.
They were already there. Correct. They were simply
taken there as the last measure. Normally in
hospice support, the doctor, the hospice physician,
will start someone off on the smallest dose of
medication, and then they will only increase
it as needed to control the symptoms. Medication
to alleviate pain. Pain. Okay. Pain, shortness
of breath, anxiety, which can be a common issue
at end of life. The Light Keepers podcast is
an exclusive production of Vanimation Studios
and is brought to you by A Guiding Light, a 501c3
nonprofit organization dedicated to education
and information that allows informed preparation
for living the very best life possible. For more
information on A Guiding Light, please visit
the website at aguidinglight .org. or to make
a tax -deductible contribution, please visit
the donation page on the website where you'll
find tax information and the address to send
a check, which is also on the screen right below
me. Stay tuned for part two of this special episode
of Light Keepers Podcast Shorts. Remember to
subscribe. We'll see you next time.