Terminally ill East Gippsland man Fred* says he is ready to face the rest of his life now that his wishes are expressed in his advance care planning

Fred, aged in his 80s, is an oncology patient at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service, where staff have helped him take the steps he needs to take to create his own advance care plan.

National Advance Care Planning Week (18 to 24 March) is an opportunity to raise discussions with the people you love about your wishes for the future of your health care.

This involves thinking about and communicating with your loved ones what happens to you in the event that you are no longer able to express how you would like to be cared for as you approach the end of your life.

This includes setting an advanced care directive that instructs medical staff what do if certain events happen during your end-of-life care.

“I am doing one at the moment. I have to go to the doctor so he can authorise it, and that way nobody can say no to my wishes,” Fred said.

”If I am going to be sick, I want to die in my own home if practical. I don’t want to die in a hospital and take up a bed.  I am certainly not going into a nursing home because I saw what happened to my wife in a nursing home, and that’s not going to happen to me.

“I’ve had a good life. If the Lord wants to take me, He can take me, but I don’t want to suffer.”

Fred lives alone and lives independently. Fred said he has a close mate who will oversee his wishes when the time comes.

He said his advance care directive gives him peace of mind. It also relieves those closest to Fred of the burden of making tough decisions because Fred had not told them what he wanted when the end came.

“It’s very important. If I didn’t have this, or I couldn’t get this, I don’t know what might happen. In the latter stages, I probably won’t be in a full state of mind. This way, I know what will happen,” he said.

*Fred is not the patient’s real name.

• Be prepared. The National Advance Care Planning Week website has a host of resources for you, those closest to you and medical professionals, including recorded webinars, to help you to create your own advance care plan: https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/advance-care-planning-week