Recent Articles
05/21/2018
How can you help your teen daughter show that she still cares for her dad? Teen girls are often unsure how to navigate communication with their fathers. Gone are the days when Dad could elicit giggles with his jokes just by being his own silly self. Most of the time a dad may get only […]
04/24/2018
My husband Larry’s best friend Jim has Stage 4 lung cancer and is under Hospice care. After visiting Jim yesterday, Larry wrote him the following note. Dear Jim: Before I came to visit you, I read an article by Colleen Arnold, MD, entitled Living with the Dying. Dr. Arnold gave me advice on how to […]
04/26/2018
How can you be a friend to a person with a terminal illness? First of all, consider the type of relationship you have with this friend: are you extremely close, or more of an acquaintance? This will help you decide which caring act to display. The ideas below come from several sources, including our book […]
04/25/2018
Should we bring a gift to a terminally ill friend? Kate Bowler, who has stage IV colon cancer, says by all means bring a gift! Kate is an assistant professor at Duke Divinity School and author of the book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved.” Kate writes, “Bring me presents. Bring […]
By Dr. Colleen Arnold, as told to Karen Mulder As a family physician, emergency room doctor and hospice doctor, Colleen Arnold is no stranger to death and dying. But her experience took a personal turn when her husband Neil was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at the age of 57. Colleen offers us these three […]
Just a few days after learning that our dear friend Jim had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, the calendar informed us that his birthday was coming up. Larry and I wondered what kind of birthday card to send him. All the funny or sarcastic cards seemed totally inappropriate. The flowery positive-thinking cards seemed […]
03/23/2018
Guest post by Brittany Rose Lynn As much as we may be hesitant to admit it, being around others with needs different from our own can be uncomfortable. You may wonder what is appropriate to say, what questions you should avoid, and if you should jump in and help (or let them work a situation […]
