There are no right or wrong ways to deal with death and dying. Often it is an individuals’ beliefs, values, experience, and circumstances which help shape their view. The most common wish is to die well and without pain or suffering.

If you are not comfortable discussing death, there are some arrangements which may help your loved ones significantly. This includes having an up to date Will and documenting any wishes you might have about a funeral. This information may be part of an advance care directive which outlines your preferences for your future care along with your beliefs, values, and goals.

While it is impossible to predict our future health, this does provide an opportunity to outline your wishes about how you want to live the rest of your life. In a crisis, it is often hard for loved ones to decide what is best for you and an advance care directive helps to outline what you want if you are unable to tell them. Being prepared does provide some clarity about what we might want when faced with life-or-death choices.

This year’s theme for National Palliative Care week (22-28 of May) is ‘It’s your right’. This is a good time to consider having a conversation with your loved ones. While for some, death can be very sudden, for others there is an opportunity to put some clear plans into place. Anyone over the age of 18 should consider having an advance directive in place. It is a simple process and can be accessed by treating doctors via your My Health Record if ever required. It may be a difficult topic to raise but it’s a vital one for us all to consider.

As published in The Advertiser's Boomer lift-out on 9 May.

For more information to help you plan ahead and take control of your future, visit www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/planningahead