When You’ve Been Diagnosed with a Terminal Illness
Before you require the cremation services offered in Van Buren, NY, you may have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. You have been given a prognosis of approximately how long you have to live before you die of this terminal illness.
It is normal to be a bit numb or even calm when you first find out you have an illness that will take your life and that you may be able to count the rest of your life in weeks, months, or a few years.
However, as the news sinks in over time, you may experience a wide variety of emotions. These can include shock, denial, anger, helplessness, frustration, fear, sadness, and acceptance. Even though you may be surrounded by a very strong support group, it is not unusual to have feelings of being isolated and alone when you have a terminal illness.
Many of these feelings arise because your life is finite. You think of the things that might have been or that you were looking forward to in the future, and you realize they will never happen – at least the way you initially imagined them.
And, even though you have a strong and committed group of people who love and care about you going through this illness with you, the reality is that they will survive it and be able to continue to live their lives, while you will not.
However, there are several things you can do to handle the diagnosis of terminal illness that will help you through the process.
The first thing you should do when you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness is to educate yourself thoroughly about the illness. Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to be fully involved in your treatment. You will also be able to find support from other people who have the same terminal illness, and you can find advice about how to cope with the various aspects of the illness.
Next, you should set your life’s priorities. When you know you have a finite amount of time left, it can clarify what is important in your life and what is not. One priority is to make sure you have end of life care, funeral planning, and estate planning done. Another may be to spend as much time with family and friends as possible. A third priority may be to do special things that you have planned for the future.
Talk with your loved ones about your terminal illness, the prognosis, and what you are feeling and what they are feeling. If no one talks about the elephant in the room – your terminal illness – there may be a lot of things that need to be and should be said left unsaid. This can create awkwardness now and regrets in the future.
Sharing feelings of fear, loss, and even guilt between you and your loved ones can enhance your closeness and your level of support, because there is an open and honest dialogue about the present and the future.
Finally, build a support team. When you’re facing a terminal illness, you cannot do everything by yourself. Nor can a single caregiver provide for and meet all your needs nor take up all the slack left by your illness.
Know who you can count on to do what and delegate the responsibilities among your team so that no one person is overburden and so that nothing is left undone.
If you’d like to know more about cremation services in Van Buren, NY, our compassionate and experienced team at Bagozzi Twins Funeral Home, Inc. is here to help.
