Saying goodbye

With advances in modern medicine, the nature of death and dying has undergone a dramatic shift. A diagnosis of a life-threatening disease is not always an immediate death sentence, and one can survive months or even years before succumbing to a terminal illness. It can give us the gift of more time with our loved ones-but it can also complicate the grieving process, prolonging the emotional pain, bringing family issues to the forefront, and creating new challenges for everyone involved.