of their symptoms. This sharing process will also help patients understand the physical changes occurring to their body.
One of the changes that can occur for cancer patients as their disease advances is loss of weight and wasting of body tissues. This can be accompanied by changes in skin color and loss of appetite. Watching these changes can be difficult both for the patient and for family members. The changes are part of the normal course of the advancing disease. As death draws closer, all bodily functions slow. Weakness and fatigue can be profound, and there may be periods of confusion. Finding the energy to talk is often difficult.
As the time for death draws nearer, many people have questions about what their death might be like. Some have heard about others' experiences with dying and wonder if their experiences will be the same. In most instances, nurses and doctors can anticipate how an individual will die based on the type of disease and the symptoms. Patients and family members feel better prepared if they talk with the nurse or doctor about what bodily changes to expect and how things might feel.
Psychosocial and Spiritual Care To be faced with one's own death releases a range of emotions. Each person will react in his or her own way. There can be shock and disbelief that this could be happening, anger that it is happening at this time in one's life, or acceptance that one's appointed time has come. A range of worries will usually emerge as a person begins to imagine the ending of life and what will happen to the people he or she loves. There may be financial concerns, legal issues and worries about how one's family will manage.
