Advance care planning

Planning for a person’s future medical care and discussing their treatment preferences and values with family, friends and the health care team is known as advance care planning. Ideally, this conversation occurs early, when cancer is first diagnosed or even before. It does not mean that the person has given up or will die soon – many people review their wishes from time to time.

Palliative Care Australia has developed a resource to help people talk about the issues – visit Dying to Talk Discussion Starter. Many people think of this process as part of “hoping for the best and preparing for the worst”.

Learn more about:

• Overview
• Advance care planning laws across Australia

Overview

It is not unusual for a person’s wishes to change once they have been told the cancer is advanced. It is important that the person’s carer, close family members and health professionals understand how much treatment the person wants for the cancer, and what matters to them most when making treatment decisions. It is ideal if the advance care plan can be as detailed as possible so that their preferences are clear. Studies show that families of people who have done advance care planning feel less anxiety and stress when asked to make important health decisions for others.

It can be confronting as a carer if the person you are caring for decides they do not want any more active treatment for the cancer. On the other hand, you may worry about the impact on their quality of life if they decide to keep pursuing active treatment even if it may not be beneficial for them. You may find it helpful to talk to the palliative care team about how you are feeling. Palliative care teams are experienced at helping people through these difficult discussions about balancing the quality and length of life.