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Death with dignity

Approaching the death of a loved one is a harrowing experience that can arouse feelings about your own mortality. It may be that your loved one made explicit requests prior to their developing CJD about the nature of their death. In the case of a CJD patient, such discussion is likely to have taken place well before the onset of their illness but it is not uncommon for families and friends to discuss such things at certain stages of their lives. If this is the case for you, we strongly recommend that as a family, you discuss the options available to you when making important decisions regarding end-of-life care, such as withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.

A person’s right to die is a controversial subject of gargantuan proportions. Many religions and faiths have strict beliefs about assisted dying. When you are making decisions regarding your loved one’s end of life care, we would encourage you to base your decision on their beliefs and values. Every person should be entitled to make decisions about their own end of life care.