eleanor.tanno

By Eleanor Tanno, M.D. Naming your “medical wishes” for end-of-life planning can be a daunting task. If you are not familiar with the medical field, this is a tall order. I liken this to asking someone to choose a meal at a restaurant without a menu. How can you be expected to be familiar enough

By Eleanor Tanno, M.D. In every specialty of medicine, you will see patients who are nearing the end of their lives. You may not consciously think about it, but you notice it in subtle ways. Perhaps it is the time it takes them to walk from your waiting room to your exam room. Or, perhaps

When complicated sibling dynamics get in the way of caring for an aging parent By Eleanor Tanno, M.D. Caring for an aging parent is one of the most stressful times in life. In my primary care practice, I often commiserate with patients that it can be like caring for a toddler again. However, this dependent

The 15 minute conversation that can prevent a lifetime of guilt By Eleanor Tanno, M.D. When someone is critically ill and in the hospital, physicians usually first consult their family members about the type of medical care to provide. If a spouse is not available, adult children are typically the next in line for these

An advance directive is a legal document that records your medical wishes in the event you are not able to make your own medical decisions. As long are you are able to coherently speak for yourself, your doctors will always rely on you to tell them what kind of care you would like. A living

Your Medical Power of Attorney (POA) is someone you choose to make medical decisions for you in the event you are too critically ill to make your own decisions. Your POA is formally and legally named in a written advance directive. Depending on your state, your medical POA may also be called a: Medical Decision

Making an advance directive can seem overwhelming at first. However, once you learn some of the common terminology and become familiar with your necessary state forms, it is pretty straightforward. The most difficult part is really the thought you put into your medical wishes and the conversations you have with your medical decision makers (usually

What does it mean to be Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)? The more informative question is, what does it look like to be resuscitated? A resuscitation is attempted when your heart is not beating and you are not breathing. In other words, you are dead. Once your heart stops beating, blood is not flowing to your

THE ONE QUESTION YOUR FAMILY SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER ABOUT YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE “I would want to live as long as I could still ___.” This is one of the most critical questions to define your end-of-life wishes. It is so critical that I have termed it your “Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Litmus Test.”