Resources

We consider education to be an extremely important part of our mission. To that end, we offer the following resources and links that may be of interest to both professional and lay members of the public. While we hope you find these resources helpful, please realize that they are for general informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace the need for consultation and treatment by physicians, mental health counselors, and/or other health care providers.

Videos

Palliative Care: YOU Are a BRIDGE

This video animation compares palliative care to the foundation of a bridge. While illness may weaken the foundation, the palliative care team provides a stronger layer of support.

THE CONVERSATION by Angelo E. Volandes, M.D.

Harvard Medical School physician Angelo E. Volandes offers a solution to traumatic end-of-life care: talking, medicine’s oldest and least technological tool in the proverbial black bag. Available everywhere January 13, 2015.

Frankly Speaking About Cancer

Frankly Speaking About Cancer takes you on a journey through topics that inform and inspire people with cancer and their loved ones. 

Doctor with patient
Frontline Being Mortal

The film investigates the practice of caring for the dying, and shows how doctors are often remarkably untrained, ill-suited and uncomfortable talking about chronic illness and death with their patients.

Internet Resources

Following is a list of available internet resources regarding hospice, palliative, and supportive care. Clicking on a link will open a new window.

Resources

Advance Directives Information from the Mass. Medical Society
Advance Directives, such as health care proxies and living wills, allow people to retain control over medical decisions.

Aging Care
An interactive website that connects people caring for their elderly parents to other caregivers, personalized information, and local resources. As part of the website, AgingCare.com features a caregiver forum, which has become the most active online caregiver community. Caregivers can find 50,000 answers by caregivers and elder care experts

Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association, a national network of chapters, is the largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to advancing Alzheimer’s research and helping those affected by the disease.

American Chronic Pain Association
Since 1980, the ACPA has provided a support system for people with chronic pain through education in pain management skills and self-help group activities.

Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
Through education, consultancy, counseling, and research, the Centre for Grief Education provides optimum support for grieving people, in order to assist their recovery and prevent chronic illness and ill health.

Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
The Benson-Henry Institute exists for the study, advancement, and clinical practice of Mind/Body Medicine.

Boston Cancer Support
Boston Cancer Support is a non-profit that provides a one-stop portal of resources for patients, families, and healthcare providers. The site provides information such as financial aid opportunities, clinical trial opportunities, lodging locations during treatment, support groups, and more. Boston Cancer Support also runs two community outreach programs: The Cancer Collaborative workshops provide development for healthcare professionals and they have links to resources for transporation.

Cancer Care
Cancer Care is a national non-profit organization that provides free professional support services to anyone affected by cancer, caregivers, children, loved ones, and the bereaved.

Cancer Insurance Checklist
The Cancer Insurance Checklist is designed to help you when shopping for insurance on your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace/Exchange if you have cancer, a history of cancer, or are at risk for cancer.

Cancer Support Community
Full of resources and information about cancer for patients and their support network. Create your own web page to let family and friends know how you’re doing and how they can help.

Caregiver Action Network
CAN (fka the National Family Caregivers Association) is a non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.

Caring Info
Caring Info provides a variety of free resources on topics including advance care planning, caregiving, pain, financial issues, hospice and palliative care, grief, and loss.

Center for Loss and Life Transition
The Center for Loss and Life Transition is dedicated to “companioning” grieving people as they mourn significant transitions and losses that transform their lives. We help mourners, by walking with them in their unique life journeys, and both professional and lay caregivers, by serving as an educational resource and professional forum.

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization dedicated to reviving the spirit and transforming the practice of medicine.

Completing a Life
A resource for Taking Charge, Finding Comfort and Reaching Closure. It offers an interactive CD-ROM and a website geared towards helping patients and families learn about the practical, emotional, spiritual, and medical issues regarding advanced illness.

Courageous Parents Network
Courageous Parents provides parents and families of children living with serious illness expert guidance and a virtual community to promote coping and resiliency and to lessen the isolation they experience.

The Dougy Center
The Dougy Center provides support in a safe place where children, teens, young adults, and their families grieving a death can share their experiences.

Dying Well
Dying Well is the website of Dr. Ira Byock, an outstanding hospice physician who has advocated for excellence in end of life care and has written and lectured extensively on the subject.

Family Caregiver Alliance
Founded in the late 1970s, Family Caregiver Alliance works as a public voice for caregivers to shine light on the challenges caregivers face daily and to champion their cause through education, services, and advocacy. The services, education programs, and resources FCA provides are designed with caregivers’ needs in mind and offer support, tailored information, and tools to manage the complex demands of caregiving.

Get Palliative Care
This site answers questions like: What is palliative care? How can I get palliative care? Is palliative care right for me? and has relevant resources, stories, and articles.

Hospice Foundation of America
Hospice Foundation of America is a not-for-profit organization that provides leadership in the development and application of hospice and its philosophy of care.

Honoring Choices Massachusetts
Honoring Choices Massachusetts is a consumer oriented non-profit organization focused on the rights of every adult to direct their health care choices and make a plan to receive the best possible care that honors their values & choices, all through their lives.

Hospice Info
Hospice Info offers information and brochures about hospices, how to find and select a hospice program, communicating end-of-life wishes, and the medicare hospice benefit program.

Lasting Matters
A comprehensive way to document and organize your personal wishes and intentions related to end-of-life planning and planning for death, helping to ensure peace of mind for your loved ones.

Lotsa Helping Hands
A free, private, web-based community to organize family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to coordinate activities and manage volunteers during times of need.

Live Strong
Provides information and guidance for cancer patients to learn their options, what to expect, and what questions to ask.

Managing Grief While in College
This guide provides some insight into how college students may best manage their grief and highlights some of the many resources available to help them cope.

Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
MOLST is a standardized medical order form for use by clinicians caring for patients with serious advancing illnesses. Visit this site for basic info., to download forms, and more.

Meal Train
A free service that simplifies the organization of giving and receiving meals. Using this site helps friends and relatives wanting to help out with a meal to know which nights the patient needs food and what he or she likes to eat.

National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC)
NAC is dedicated to providing support for family caregivers and the professionals that help them, and to increasing public awareness of issues facing family caregivers.

National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute, established under the National Cancer Act of 1937, is the Federal Government’s principal agency for cancer research and training.

National Center for Death Education
NCDE is a program at Mount Ida College that assists caregiving professionals and students in acquiring and maintaining a current knowledge base, and in developing creative and useful skills for providing care associated with end of life, bereavement, and loss.

National Council on Aging
The National Council on Aging strives to help people age 60+ meet the challenges of aging and provides innovative community programs and services, online help, and advocacy.

National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
The national organization for hospices and palliative care programs throughout the country, NHPCO provides leadership and member support to mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life.

Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support
Share serves those whose lives are touched by the tragic death of a baby through early pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or in the first few months of life.

Stanford Hospital’s Cancer Supportive Care Program
Features a number of terrific informative videos for caregivers and patients with cancer.

Students Coping with Grief and Loss at School
A guidebook designed to help with grief and assist in providing resources for those who are struggling while in school.

Tips for Kids Dealing with Grief
An article outlining how to help kids at different ages deal with grief. Includes a lengthy list of other resources.

Well Spouse Association
Provides support for spousal caregivers.

What You Need to Know About Palliative Care
An informative brochure about palliative care: what is it, who is eligible, where to go, etc.

Young Survival Coalition
Educational programs designed to reach a core audience of young women affected by breast cancer as well as members of the medical community, friends, family members, caregivers, the breast health community, healthy young women, and the general public.

Book Collections

Over the  years, we have donated a selection of books to the Nantucket Atheneum and to the Saltmarsh Senior Center through a gift in honor of Nancy Adam, a previous Coordinator of Volunteers for our program. If you’d like to see what books were made available, choose the link below.

Nantucket Atheneum Collection

Albom, Mitch Tuesdays with Morrie

Benson, Herbert & Eileen Stuart The Wellness Book

Byock, Ira. Dying Well: The Prospect for Growth at the End of Life

Coryell, Deborah Good Grief: Healing through Shadows of Loss

Dougy Center 35 Ways to help a Grieving Child

Gollman, Earl Straight Talk About Death for Teenagers

Grollman, Earl Living When a Loved One has Died

Kelley & Callahan Final Gifts

Kubler Ross & Warshaw To Live Until We Say Goodbye

Lattanzi-Licht, Marcia The Hospice Choice: In Pursuit of a Peaceful Death

Levine, Stephen A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as if it were Your Last

Levine, Stephen Who Dies? An Investigation of Conscious Living & Conscious Dying

Lewis, C. S. A Grief Observed

Longaker, Christine Facing Death and Finding Hope

Lynn, Joanne Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness

Maxwell, Katie Bedside Manners

Rando, Therese How to go on Living When Someone You Love Dies

Ray, Catherine I’m Here To Help

Rinpoche, Sogyal The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying

Rosof, Barbara The Worst Loss: How Families Heal from the Death of a Child

Singh, Kathleen The Grace in Dying: How We Are Transformed Spiritually as We Die

Stoddard, Sandal The Hospice Movement

Webb, Marilyn The Good Death: New American Search

Weenolsen, Patricia The Art of Dying:How to Leave the World with Dignity & Grace, at Peace…

Weil, Andrew Spontaneous Healing

Saltmarsh Senior Center Collection

C.S.Lewis A Grief Observed

Carol Stoudocker A Time to Grieve- Meditations for Healing

Deepak Chopra Ageless Body, Timeless Mind

Deepak Chopra Journey Into Healing: Awakening the Wisdom Within You

Daniel Kuhn Alzheimer’s Early Stages: First Steps in Caring

Sharon Fish Alzheimer’s: Caring for a Loved One Caring for Yourself

Teresa Strecker Alzheimer’s: Making Sense of Suffering

Beth McLeod Caregiving:The Spiritual Journey of Love and Renewal

AARP Caring to Help Others

Ira Byock Dying Well: Peace and Possiblilities at the End of Life

John Bayley Elegy for Iris

Fourteen Friends Fourteen Friends’ guide to elder caring

John Jones & Frank Cherry Grief Recovery Handbook

Joanee Lynn & Joan Harrold Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness

Marcia Lattanzi-Licht Hospice Choice:In pursuit of a Peaceful Death

Therese Rando How to go on Living When Someone You Love Dies

Mary Jane Moffett In the Midst of Winter

Kenneth Doka editor Living With Grief- Loss in Later Life

John W. Rowe Successful Aging

Nancy Mace & Peter Rabins The 36 Hour Day

Victor Frankl Man’s Search For Meaning

Benson Stuart The Wellness Book: A Comprehensive Guide to Maintain Good Health

Mitch Albom Tuesdays With Morrie

Golden & Miller When a Man Faces Grief

Kushner When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Phyllis Silverman & , Scott Campbell Widower

Edward Hallowell Worry

Stephen Levine Year to Love: How to live this year as if it were the last

Morrie Scwhartz Letting Go- Morrie’s Reflections on Living While Dying

Earl Grollman Living When a Loved One Has Died

Jane CowlesPain Relief- How to Say No to Acute, Chronic Pain

Sarah Van Brethnach Simple Abundance: A Day Book of Comfort & Joy

Richard & Wayne Sribnick Smart Patient, Good Medicine

Andrew Weil Spontaneous Healing

James Hewitt The Complete Yoga Book

Currents newsletter

Currents is a bi-annual newsletter published by Palliative & Supportive Care of Nantucket Foundation. Each issue contains information about our palliative and supportive care organization and our services within the community as well as articles about relevant issues.

Join our mailing list if you’d like to receive Currents.

Below is a list of educational articles taken from past newsletters and other resources.

Educational Articles
Newsletters Archives

Spring/Summer 2021
Program Director Bids a Fond Farewell

Fall/Winter 2020
Hope on the Horizon

Fall 2019
The Importance of Planning Ahead

Spring 2019
Change: A letter from the new Program Director

Fall 2018
The Importance of Letting Go

Spring 2018
Allowing a Natural Death

Fall 2017
Reflections from the Bedside

Spring 2017
New Tools Empower Patients

Fall 2016
Serious Illness Care Planning

Spring 2016
Having the conversation

Fall 2015
Whole Person Care

Spring 2015
Grief in the Community

Fall 2014
Expanding Cancer Care Services

Spring 2014
Leaving A Legacy

Fall 2013
Annual Report and Program Director’s Reflections on 25 Years

Spring 2013
A patient’s story

Fall 2012
Annual Report and Patient Care Statistics

Spring 2012
Celebrating 30 Years!

Fall 2011
Annual Report and Patient Care Statistics

Fall 2011 Insert
Talking to Children About Grief

Spring 2011
A Refresher About our Services

Fall 2010
The Patient Care Statistics

Fall 2009
It’s Been Quite a Year! – Program Director’s Annual Report

Spring 2009
Heading Upstream – Expanding Our Services and Changing Our Name

Fall 2008
Patient Care Activities for the Past Year

Spring 2008
Being There for a Loved One with Dementia

Fall 2007
Nurturing the Spirit

Spring 2007
West Meets East

Fall 2006
New Service for Caregivers

Spring 2006
Are You Prepared?

Fall 2005
Support Services for Caregivers

Spring 2005
As the World Kept Vigil …

Fall 2004
Letter from the President – 2004

Spring 2004
Alzheimer’s Resource Guide

Spring 2003
Caring for Family Caregivers

Fall 2002
Hospice Directors Annual Report

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