Talking with your doctor

The best time to plan for end-of-life care is while you’re fairly healthy. And a good person to start with is your doctor. When you have made your decisions and plans, share them with family members and other care providers.

Talk about what kinds of supportive care you might want and for how long. Ask about the quality of life that each choice might offer. Talking about this with your doctor can help you think more clearly about what you might want or not want at the end of life. There are others who can help, too.

• Palliative care providers. They focus on reducing pain and other symptoms of long-term and serious conditions.

• Hospice representatives. They offer end-of-life care.

• Spiritual advisors or clergy.

• Social workers.

• Counselors or therapists.

Hospitals often have these professionals on staff.

There are also many resources online.

Palliative care

With COPD, you may want to think about palliative care. This is care aimed at making you as comfortable as possible.

• This type of care focuses on your comfort.

• Palliative care is always part of end-of-life care. But it can also be part of care for anyone at any stage of a serious or chronic illness. It's different than hospice care.

• The purpose of palliative care is to ease your symptoms. It can help with symptoms like pain, nausea, tiredness, shortness of breath, anxiety, and depression.

• If you have severe COPD, palliative care can help you set up ways to reduce the effort it takes to take care of yourself. This may include things like living on one floor of a house or having meals provided.

Check with your health insurance plan to see if this type of care is covered. 

Written documents

Put your wishes for end-of-life care in writing. This is called an advance directive. It is a legal document that guides your health care providers when you’re not able to make decisions for yourself. Give copies to health care staff and family members.

• A living will is one type of advance directive. This document describes the type of medical care you would like at the end of your life.

• A medical, or durable, power of attorney is a second type of advanced directive. This document names the person you would like to make health care decisions for you if you can’t speak for yourself.

• Your doctor or local hospital will have forms for both types of advance directives. You can also find them online. The forms vary by state. So be sure to use forms accepted in your state.

• Give copies to your doctor and family members. And keep copies for yourself. You’ll want them with you if you are in the hospital.

• You may also want to talk with your doctor about the physician order for life-sustaining treatment (POLST). This form supports good communication between you and your provider. This helps to prevent unwanted, aggressive treatment at the end of life. The use of the POLST document and wallet card also varies by state. Talk with your doctor about what is available in your state. 

What you want may change over time. Make sure your documents are always up-to-date. If your wishes change, talk with your family and health care providers. And update your documents.