Terminal illness
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
Terminal illness is medical terminology popularized in the 20th century for an active and malignant disease which cannot be cured and is expected to lead to death. Palliative care is often prescribed to manage symptoms and improve quality of life. A patient who has such an illness is referred to as a terminal patient or terminally ill.
Certain types of cancer, emphysema, liver failure, kidney failure, asbestosis, mesothelioma, some mental illness and heart disease may be considered fatal, although liver failure, kidney failure and even heart disease could possibly prolong life with an organ transplant. AIDS could be considered a terminal illness, but most patients with AIDS succumb to other illnesses due to their deficient immune systems.
A patient is considered to be terminally ill when he/ she has a medical prognosis of a life expectancy of six months or less. Though a patient may be considered terminal, it doesn't always guarantee that he/she will die.
See also
External Links
Death and related topics | |
|---|---|
| In medicine | Autopsy · Brain death · Clinical death · Euthanasia · Persistent vegetative state · Terminal illness |
| Lists | Causes of death by rate · People by cause of death |
| Mortality | Immortality · Infant mortality · Legal death · Maternal death · Mortality rate |
| After death | Afterlife · Burial · Cremation · Decomposition · Funeral · Grief · Mourning · Séance · Customs |
| Fields of research | Cryonics · Near-death experience · Near-death studies · Reincarnation research |
| Other | Genocide · Fascination with death · Martyrdom · Sacrifices (Human · Animal) · Suicide · War |
 | This medical article is a stub. You can help WikiDoc by expanding it. |
| This disease article is a stub. You can help WikiDoc by expanding it. |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
