When Jeff was diagnosed with stage 3 skin cancer, he knew he had to start planning ahead. There was still a chance that treatment could work, but Jeff wanted to be prepared. He wanted to make decisions about end-of-life care and tidy up his information so that his son Jake wouldn’t have to handle everything if the worst happened.
Jeff reached out to a care manager to help him figure out what decisions he needed to make and what information he should gather. The care manager asked him a few questions about his care preferences to help him decide what he wanted:
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- What kind of emotional support did Jeff want access to? Was he connected to a religious group that he wanted involved and/or was he opened to joining support groups for cancer patients? Jeff said he wasn’t religious, but he was interested in joining a cancer support group. The care manager put him in touch with a group in his area.
- What would he like hospice care to look like? Jeff said that he would prefer to spend his last days at home, so the care manager suggested a hospice home care company that had worked with other clients who appreciated their services.
- Which treatment options was Jeff okay with and which would he rather avoid? The care manager went through the information the doctor had given Jeff about treatment options and helped him understand each one so that he could make an informed decision.
The care manager helped Jeff arrange his care wishes into advance directives that would guide medical professionals to give him care that aligned with his wishes. Then, Jeff and the care manager moved on to arranging the information that Jake would need once Jeff passed away. The care manager recommended a trusted elder law and estate planning attorney who could help Jeff with the legal documents that needed to be finalized, including a will and making Jake the Healthcare Power of Attorney if Jeff became unable to communicate. Apart from the legal documents, the care manager helped Jeff organize other practical information that Jake would need, including:
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- A funeral plan
- Jeff’s digital assets, with the usernames and passwords
- Investment accounts
- Life insurance policy
- The deed to the house
- Bank accounts and safety deposit boxes
- House and car keys
- Accounts/Autopay contact lists (Gas, electricity, water, any accounts paid automatically)
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Once all the information was gathered and Jeff had made his decisions about his future care, he sat down with Jake to go over his decisions. Jeff gave Jake the care manager’s information and let him know that he could contact the care manager for help whenever he needed to. Although Jeff still had a long road ahead of him as he navigated cancer treatments, he felt more at peace knowing that he had plans in place for end-of-life care. He knew that Jake had the information and support that he would need to get through whatever the future held.
Reach out to Infinity Care Solutions to make your care plan today.
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