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Dying is a happier experience than most people imagine

Dying is a more positive experience than most people imagine, psychologists have claimed. A recent YouGov survey found 68 per cent of people in Britain fear death – but according to the authors of new study, dying is “less sad and terrifying – and happier – than you think”. Researchers at the University of North…

Fear of talking about dying ‘leading to thousands of traumatic hospital deaths’

Thousands of cancer patients would prefer to die at home but are forced to suffer “traumatic” deaths in hospital, according to Macmillan. Taboos around talking about death are fuelling a “crisis of communication” in the UK that prevents people from planning their final days, warned the organisation in a new report. Research by the charity…

How Doctors Want to Die

Dr. Kendra Fleagle Gorlitsky recalls the anguish she used to feel performing CPR on elderly, terminally ill patients. “I felt like I was beating up people at the end of their life,” she says. It looks nothing like what people see on TV. In real life, ribs often break and few survive the ordeal. Gorlitsky…

Bringing the Dead back to Life

A radical procedure that involves replacing a patient’s blood with cold salt water could retrieve people from the brink of death, says David Robson. “When you are at 10C, with no brain activity, no heartbeat, no blood – everyone would agree that you’re dead,” says Peter Rhee at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “But we…

How Doctors Die

This article was written by KEN MURRAY, MD Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. He had a surgeon explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. This surgeon was one of the best in the country. He had even invented a new procedure…

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Stress can truly kill

Emotional distress, also known as psychological distress, can increase the risk of death in the general population. Anecdotal evidence has shown that distress leads to a myriad of health disorders. [Psychol Med 1995;25(5):1073-86, Ann Epidemiol 2004;14:467-72] Emotional distress, a term referring to the signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, has been linked to an…

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Meaning-based Therapy may aid terminal patients

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Psychotherapy focused on spirituality and finding meaning may help improve quality of life and well-being in terminally ill cancer patients, suggests a new study from a large cancer treatment center. The talk therapy sessions only seemed to provide a short-term benefit — though researchers said that was reasonable given that…