In this week’s episode, Dr. Saul Ebema and Dr. Joe Newton sit down to talk about the challenges of the family members of the hospice patient and how to help them.

When a member of the family is dying, unique problems arise. These problems usually begin at the time of diagnosis. Communications often becomes difficult as family members experience different stages of grief. Early in terminal illness, there are the emotional burdens of learning of the illness and coming to accept a terminal diagnosis, of giving up hope of cure and choosing comfort measures. In addition to grieving for the potential loss of the loved one, there is also the grief for the death of the family unit as it has existed before. Although the family will continue after the death, it will forever be changed by the death.