A new documentary is available to the public on DVD to help patients and their families talk with their physicians about end-of-life care. Following a model I’ve seen on Aging with Dignity website, "Consider the Conversation" is a documentary available to the public on DVD to help patients and their families talk with their physicians about end-of-life care. The documentary film will be available on PBS television this Spring and is also available for purchase on Amazon.com. Made in a volunteer effort and funded entirely by donations, the producers explain the film as follows:
“The bottom line is that Consider the Conversation does not seek to hand down answers. Rather, it provides something far more important - the questions all of us need to contemplate. That being said, the producers have three goals for this film: 1) to change the current American attitude from one that predominantly views end-of-life as a failed medical event to one that sees it as a normal process rich in opportunity for human development, 2) to inspire dialogue between patient and doctor, husband and wife, parent and child, minister and parishioner on end-of-life issues, and 3) to encourage medical professionals, healthcare organizations and faith leaders to take the lead in counseling others.”
Dr. Wendy Harpham, who has brought this film to my attention, says on her Blog Dr. Wendy Harpham on Healthy Survivorship, that “release of the DVD has occurred in tandem with a policy statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) that recommends physicians initiate candid discussions about palliative care and treatment options soon after a patient has been diagnosed with advanced cancer.”
Mike Bernhagen and Terry Kaldhusdal, the producers, were motivated by their personal experiences with loss; they joined forces to make a film that would "shed light on the 21st century American struggle with communication and preparation at the end-of-life."
According to Bernhagen and Kaldhusdal, "Consider the Conversation" examines multiple perspectives on end-of-life care and includes information and experiences gathered from interviews with patients, family members, doctors, nurses, clergy, social workers, and national experts on death and dying."
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