If your loved one has now progressed to end-stage (advanced) dementia, it may help to know what to expect and plan for what lies ahead.

Shortness of breath (dyspnea) is common in people with serious or advanced illness. It makes breathing difficult and uncomfortable. Read on to learn more.

Certain treatments can help sustain life when you have a serious illness. But as your illness progresses, there may come a time when these treatments are no longer a benefit. You must then decide whether to continue or stop these treatments.

When you have a serious illness, your healthcare provider will review treatment choices with you as your illness progresses. Artificial feeding is one such treatment. It supplies artificial nutrition to your body if you can no longer take in food by mouth. This sheet tells you more about artificial feeding as an option.

When you have a serious illness, your healthcare provider will review treatment options with you as your illness progresses. Some of these treatments help support or sustain life if your body can no longer perform certain functions on its own. Artificial hydration is one such treatment.

Resuscitation refers to the methods used to try to restart the heart and lungs if they stop working. If you have a serious illness, your healthcare provider will likely talk to you and your loved ones about resuscitation and other treatments you may need in the future. Read on to learn more about resuscitation and what you need to know when deciding about this treatment.

Pain management is the careful use of treatments to reduce pain. Every person has a right to have relief from pain. The main goal of pain management in hospice is to improve quality of life. Pain management can also help improve a person's physical and mental functions.

Advance care planning is the process of deciding one's own future medical care. It helps to make sure that if you can't speak for yourself, your wishes can still be carried out. The plan is a series of legal documents that note a person's wishes. The documents vary by state.

If you're thinking about hospice, you know that the decision can be a difficult one. It means that you or your loved one is nearing the end of life. This guide can help you know when to start hospice, how to choose hospice, and how to get ready for home care.

Palliative care is a way to improve quality of life for a person who's being treated for a serious illness. It is a type of medical specialty. To palliate means to ease the symptoms of an illness.