Imagine that one day illness left you unable to talk with your doctors or make decisions about your own treatment. Who would decide for you — and how would they know what you truly wanted? These questions are the starting point of advance care planning (ACP).
What advance care planning is
Advance care planning is an ongoing conversation between a patient, their family, and their care team about values, beliefs, life goals, and wishes for future medical care — so that if a time comes when the patient cannot decide for themselves, their care still reflects what they hold most important.
Importantly, ACP is not merely a document. It is a conversation. A written statement such as a living will is simply one outcome of that conversation.
What is usually discussed
- What gives our life meaning, and what we value most
- Our worries and fears about illness
- The level of treatment we would want — for example, our views on breathing machines, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or treatments that would only prolong the dying process
- Choosing a trusted person to make decisions on our behalf if we cannot
- Where we would prefer to be cared for near the end of life — at home, or in hospital
When to begin
The honest answer is: the sooner, the better. Advance care planning does not need to wait for serious illness — every adult can begin these conversations while still well. For those diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening condition, the best time is while symptoms are stable, when there is space to reflect calmly rather than decide in the middle of a crisis.
Any plan can be revisited and revised whenever circumstances — or our own thinking — change.
Why it is a gift
Families who must make major decisions for a loved one without ever knowing their wishes often carry stress and guilt for years afterwards. Sharing your wishes in advance lifts that burden from the people you love, and helps your medical team care for you in the way you would truly want.
The Prakongruk Palliative Care Unit is glad to help open this conversation with you and your family — on our ward, or at our outpatient clinic.