Compassionate journeys and end-of-life care

All patients deserve the right to be treated with compassion and humanity, whatever their age or circumstances and we are aware that such care can relieve symptoms and anxiety, promote faster recovery, and assist in the management of long term illness. But how can we fully understand the needs and thoughts of patients reaching the end of the human life cycle? If we have a long term disorder, we may gain support from others in the same situation, and if we are recovering from acute illness we might discuss this with other people who have experienced the same or similar illness. However, end of life is something very personal and individual, particularly at the final stages, and although it is the one thing in life that all of us can be certain of, how do we understand it if we have never experienced it? Thus, compassion towards the dying patient is essential to relieve suffering and to try to make their exit from this world as pain-free and comfortable as possible. This chapter aims to provide an introduction to approaches in end of life care and to summarize certain initiatives and practices.