Literature Review

Late influencer Dominique McShain’s husband Sean pays tribute to her after death at 21AOL.com; by Emily Zogbi; 4/27/25Sean Suson, husband of late influencer Dominique McShain, is paying tribute to his late wife. “Our love can never be replicated nor erased, you will forever be a part of me, ...” Suson wrote via Instagram on Saturday, April 26. ...  People confirmed on Wednesday, April 23, that McShain had died at the age of 21 following a battle with colon cancer. In May 2024, she shared in a TikTok her diagnosis of an incurable colorectal cancer that had metastasized to her liver. ... Earlier this month, McShain delivered the sad news to her followers on social media ... “I want to be direct with you all: this will be my final update on my cancer journey until I have passed away,” McShain wrote via Instagram on April 6. “I’ve recently been given a prognosis about 5 days ago of only a few days to a few weeks to live. ... She added that she had “transitioned into end-of-life care, focusing on pain relief and managing side effects.” ... "My life may be short but I genuinely think I’ve squeezed every bit out of it,” McShain wrote.

Pope Francis has died, Vatican says Reuters, Vatican City; by Joshua McElwee; 4/21/25, 6:11 am EDT, updated 6:51 am EDT Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he had been driven around St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday.Editor's Note: This breaking news emerged after today's newsletter had been sent. Please check your email for today's full issue of Hospice & Palliative Care Today.

Pope Francis was so close to death that doctors considered ending treatment Reuters, Vatican City; by Joshua McElwee; 3/25/25 Pope Francis came so close to death at one point during his 38-day fight in hospital against pneumonia that his doctors considered ending treatment so he could die in peace, the head of the pope's medical team said. After a breathing crisis on February 28 ... "there was a real risk he might not make it," said Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome's Gemelli hospital. "We had to choose if we would stop there and let him go, or to go forward and push it with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the highest risk of damaging his other organs," Alfieri told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday [3/25]. "In the end, we took this path," he said. [Continue reading ...]

Andy Isaac, beloved Detroit sports fan and internet star, says he's entering hospice care Detroit Free Press; by Jared Ramsey; 2/20/25 One of the more prominent faces in the Detroit sports fan online community announced Tuesday he's leaving social media due to his ongoing battle with cancer. Andy Isaac, known from his X (formerly Twitter) account @WorldofIsaac, said he's chosen to enter hospice care. He's been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma since he was first diagnosed in 2006. Isaac, with more than 89,000 followers, became a beloved figure as he cheered on the Detroit Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons with his followers and cracked jokes at other teams' expense, namely the Chicago Bears. ... "I don't know when my first tweet or post was but I can tell you, sadly, this is probably one of my last. Having cancer since 2006 has finally taken its toll on me, it has stripped me of my quality of life. I have decided on hospice care." ... He signed off by saying, "Be kind to each other. I love you all. Truly, I do." 

This 1970s TV actor left his entire – surprisingly large – fortune to the state that made him world famous Celebrity Net Worth; by Paula Wilson; 2/12/25 When you pass away, what will be your legacy? ... For 1970s actor Jack Ward, greatness meant leaving behind a gift. A surprisingly large gift that would keep on giving for many years after he was gone, benefitting the people of the state that made him famous… and rich… In 1968, he began appearing as Steve McGarrett on the cop show, "Hawaii 5-0." The popular cop show ran for the next twelve years. ... By the time Jack died in 1998, they had given the [Hawaii Community Foundation] $750,000. ... [Among the foundation's recipients ...] Hospice Hawai'i and St. Francis Hospice have been bolstered by the Lord Fund, .... The stable annual support has helped hospice programs expand outreach and grief counseling services for island residents. 

Patrick Mahomes' grandfather enters hospice care ahead of Chiefs' AFC championship game The Sporting News; by Andrew Katz; 1/25/25 Two days before Patrick Mahomes is set to lead the Kansas City Chiefs into battle against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game, the three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback has received devastating news. Mahomes' grandfather, Randy Martin, entered hospice care Friday morning, according to Mahomes’ mother. This news comes as the Chiefs prepare to play Sunday with the aim of reaching their third Super Bowl in a row and become the first NFL team to win three consecutive championships in Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9. [Update: The Chiefs won and will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Likely, this hospice story will gain traction in various news outlets.]

Uruguay’s iconic ex-President Jose Mujica says his cancer has spread and that he’s dying Associated Press - World News, Santiago, Chile; by Nayara Batschke; 1/9/25 ... “Honestly, I am dying,” said the former leader, who governed the small South American nation of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. The article noted that he had tears in his eyes. “What I ask is that they leave me alone. Don’t ask me for more interviews or anything else,” he said. “My cycle is over.” ... In the interview with Busqueda, Mujica said his autoimmune disease, severe kidney disease and other underlying medical problems led to his decision not to pursue treatment after medical tests showed his cancer had returned and metastasized. “I’m an old man, and because I have two chronic illnesses my body cannot handle it,” he said. ... Mujica told Busqueda that he would devote his “final stage” of life to his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo, the capital, where he has grown chrysanthemums with his wife for decades.Editor's note: Whatever one's political stances, may we see and hear the unifying, universal inevitabilities of facing dying and death.

The Jimmy Carter White House Connection to Hospice & Palliative Care TodayCohen-Fyfe Communications; by Mark Cohen; 1/3/25Jimmy Carter’s impact on the hospice movement goes further than his very public decision to be admitted to hospice in February 2023 ... and even further than his administration’s decision in 1980 to launch the Hospice Demonstration Project that directly led to congressional passage of the Medicare Hospice Benefit, with strong bipartisan support, in 1981 during the first year of the Reagan Administration. How much further? You might not be reading this daily newsletter if were not for the Carter White House. If you were a fan of Hospice News Today, which I published from 2012 to 2023, and/or if you’re a fan of Hospice & Palliative Care Today, then you should know that Jimmy Carter(and his long-time senior aides Jody Powell and Hamilton Jordan) deserve some of the credit for these two unique daily environmental scans that have served the hospice movement now for more than a dozen years. ... [Fascinating story and with this spoiler alert:] So, Inauguration Day in 1977 found me walking into the Old Executive Ofice Building as the youngest person on the 369-person staf of The Office of the President. My job? One of six stafers who produced the daily News Summary for the President and nearly 200 senior oficials throughout the White House and the Cabinet and executive agencies. [Click on the title's link to read more.]Editor's note: As President Carter's body is taken to the Capitol today, we celebrate the simple moments that can change the course of another's life. Did you read Jimmy Carter's questions to the young Mark Cohen? At Hospice & Palliative Care Today, we are grateful for Mark's journey and long-lasting impact. What interest are you taking in the lives of those who serve in your organization? May we pause. Learn. And live.

Preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity News Wise; by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center; 12/29/24 Many people are surprised by the intensity of their response when a well-known person dies, and their feelings of sadness may last longer than they expect. In fact, that sadness and grief can be intense, and preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity. Wendy Lichtenthal, Ph.D., a bereavement science researcher and founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, is available to discuss “parasocial grief” – that which occurs when a celebrity, political figure or other highly recognized person dies.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 Associated Press (AP), Atlanta, GA; by Bill Barrow; 12/29/24 Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. ...

Lightways Hospice in Joliet dedicates street to former CEO Duane Krieger The Herald News, Joliet, IL; by Denise Unland; 10/24/24 On Tuesday [10/22], Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care in Joliet dedicated its drive to former CEO Duane Krieger of Shorewood on what would have been his 88th birthday. He did earlier this year, May 28, 2024. [He proudly spent his final days benefitting from his life’s work, Lightways Hospice (formerly Joliet Area Community Hospice) surrounded by his family and so many friends. ... In 1992 he joined Joliet Area Community Hospice as CEO and soon created the first in- patient hospice in Illinois. He proudly led the capital campaign that allowed JACH to move into a brand new, state of the art facility in 2004, ultimately becoming Lightways Hospice. He retired, twice, from his employment in hospice but never stopped working for its benefit.]**From Duane Krieger's obituary, as the 10/24 article is behind a paywall for most readers.

Janey Godley says it's important to 'talk about death' in hospice update STV News; 10/8/24 Janey Godley has said it is important to “talk about death” as she shared an update on her condition from her hospice.The Scottish comedian is currently receiving end-of-life care after receiving the news that her cancer had spread, after initially being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021. She shared the “devastating news” in September after cancelling her upcoming autumn tour, adding that her “chemo ran out of options” and she couldn’t take anymore. In a video from the hospice, Godley thanked everybody as she confirmed she has had some issues with sickness – and said it is “hard” to speak about death but these are conversations we “all have to have.”

Carter defies odds with 19-month hospice stay: Former president's experience shines light on program The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; by Shelia Poole; 9/27/24 The Rev. Tony Lowden recently visited former President Jimmy Carter at his Plains home, where he is under hospice care. Carter, who turns 100 on Tuesday, was doing “good, fantastic,” said Lowden, who has been Carter’s personal pastor for seven years. Few would have expected such news about Carter, who has been under home hospice care for roughly 19 months.Only 10% of people on Medicare who died while under hospice care were in the program for 275 days or longer in 2022, according to MedPAC, an independent agency that advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. Carter’s longevity while under hospice care continues to defy the odds, but that doesn’t surprise those who know his grit. ... Facts and Figures About Hospice Care: