A shock diagnosis meant Annette and her husband had to plan for his death
Dying in sudden, unexpected circumstances is not something people often consider, but there are plenty of reasons to create an end-of-life plan. So why do so few people have one?
Dying in sudden, unexpected circumstances is not something people factor into their life plan.
Generally, we like to think death happens in old age, and for most Australians, that is the case.
But the reality is things can change in an instant, with life-changing decision-making thrust into the hands of our loved ones.
When Perth woman Annette and her late husband Ian found out he had a rare, aggressive form of cancer, she knew they had to plan ahead.
Annette sought help to make arrangements for her husband Ian's end-of-life health care. (ABC News: Rani Fletcher)
Diagnosed with cancer of the bile duct and treated with intensive palliative chemotherapy and radiation, Ian was told his life expectancy was less than five years.
"I was just looking ahead knowing Ian was terminally ill," she said.
The couple went to their GP to initiate an Advance Health Directive, as it is known in WA — a legal document outlining a person's preferences for their end-of-life health care.
But at 20 pages long and involving no discussion with their GP, it was a challenge.
"We'd gone to our GP and he gave us this form with some advice on how to do [a directive], and we looked at it, and it was too hard," Annette said.
Assistance key
That is when Annette enlisted the help of Palliative Care WA.
"[They] would say to us, 'What do you want to happen? Explain it to me,'" she said.
For Ian, this meant refusing life-saving or prolonging intervention if he was approaching unresponsiveness or an end-of-life phase.
One-to-one assistance can help people plan for dying and what they want from the rest of their life. (ABC News: Rani Fletcher)
His wishes were then translated into medical and legal terminology that were written into the directive.
Annette described how one-to-one assistance made completing a directive "so much easier", and without it she believed they "probably would have put it off again".
Having a plan, she said, meant when Ian's health deteriorated, there were no disagreements among the family about the next steps.
The difficulties Annette and Ian encountered are not uncommon.
In 2021, just 2 per cent of Western Australians across four hospitals and aged care facilities had created a directive.