Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe an active and malignant disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient. Medical terminology is a vocabulary for accurately describing the Human body and associated components conditions processes and process in a science-based manner Malignant (from the Latin roots mal- = "bad" and -genus = "born" is a medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled Heart disease is an Umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the Heart. Treatment of physical trauma is described here and in First aid.

A patient who has such an illness may be referred to as a terminal patient or terminally ill. Often, a patient is considered to be terminally ill when the life expectancy is estimated to be six months or less, under the assumption that the disease will run its normal course. The six-month standard is arbitrary,^[1] and best available estimates of longevity may be incorrect. Consequently, though a given patient may properly be considered terminal, this is not a guarantee that the patient will die within six months. Similarly, a patient with a slowly progressing disease, such as AIDS, may not be considered terminally ill because the best estimates of longevity were greater than six months. However this does not guarantee that the patient will not die unexpectedly early. In general, physicians slightly overestimate survival so that a person who is expected to live for about six weeks often dies about two weeks sooner than predicted. ^[2]

Treatment

Some terminally ill patients stop all debilitating treatments to reduce unwanted side effects. Others continue aggressive treatment in the hope of an unexpected success. Still others reject conventional medical treatment and pursue unproven treatments such as radical dietary modifications. Patients' choices about different treatments may change over time. ^[3]

Palliative care is normally offered to terminally ill patients, regardless of their overall disease management style, if it seems likely to help manage symptoms such as pain and improve quality of life. Palliative care (from Latin palliare to cloak is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of Disease Symptoms Hospice care, which can be provided at home or in a long-term care facility, additionally provides emotional and spiritual support for the patient and loved ones. Some complementary medicine approaches, such as relaxation therapy,^[4] massage,^[5] and acupuncture^[6] may relieve some symptoms and other causes of suffering. History Antiquity In China, the practice of acupuncture can perhaps be traced as far back as

Dying

Patients, healthcare workers, and recently bereaved family members often describe a good death in terms of effective choices made in a few areas:^[7]

• Assurance of effective pain and symptom management
• Education about death and its aftermath, especially as it relates to decision-making
• Completion of any significant goals, such as resolving past conflicts

People who are terminally ill may or may not follow recognizable stages of grief. Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss it also has physical cognitive behavioral social and philosophical ^[8] For example, a person who finds strength in denial may never reach a point of acceptance or accommodation and may react negatively to any statement that threatens this defense mechanism. Denial (also called abnegation) is a Defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to Other people find comfort in meticulously arranging their financial and legal affairs or planning their funerals. A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember

See also

• Anticipatory grief
• Do Not Resuscitate
• Euthanasia
• Interventionism
• Living will

References