To die young, to die old management of terminal illness at age 20 and at age 85: case reports. Death and dying in a 20-year-old woman.
An effort was made to provide emotional support during the terminal phase of leukemia in a 20-year-old woman. Notable were the patient's own ways of coping and the responses of her family and the hospital staff. She first denied and then recognized her own dying. Her anger was prominent, and she withdrew from objects toward the end. The intense stresses in the doctor-patient relationship, transference, countertransference, and reality factors are described.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003379:Countertransference; D003643:Death; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005190:Family; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000401:mortality; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D013727:Terminal Care; D014167:Transference, Psychology