Legal Concerns & Cancer

It is a good idea for all adults, regardless of your current health status, to prepare for the future by having your legal documents in order. 

The legal documents listed here are tools to help ensure your family knows your wishes in case you become unable to make health care decisions for yourself. Some of these documents can be prepared without the use of a lawyer and without any cost to you or your family.

1. Advance Directive

   An advance directive is any statement, oral or written, a person makes about his or her choices for future treatment. It will be very useful if your loved one becomes unable to make decisions. It is best if this is a written document.

   Most doctors have a state form you can fill out. It is important that your doctors have a copy and that you and your loved one keep your copy in a place where you can easily get it

    

2. Do-Not-Resuscitate Order

   A Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order is an order that your doctor writes on your chart if you decide you do not want “heroic measures” taken in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. Your specific desires should be stated in the previously described documents. This is a medical order that states that if you stop breathing or your heart stops beating, you do not want to be hooked up to machines that will keep your body alive.

   It is very important to think about this issue and discuss it with your family and healthcare team before you become seriously ill. Your decisions about resuscitation should be documented in your living will and should be discussed with your POA.

    

3. Last Will and Testament

   A last will and testament, or "will," is a legal document that defines what will be done with property, money, and other possessions (including care for children) after a person passes away. Guardianship for young children or dependents may be a key element of a last will and testament.

   If a will is not written, state laws will determine how wealth is passed along to family members. This can be a lengthy, and sometimes expensive, process.

    

4. Living Will  

   A living will is a legal document that details your wishes regarding future medical care if you are no longer able to speak for yourself. This is a legal form that states how you wish to be treated if you can’t make decisions due to illness, injury, or old age. It states whether or not you would like to be placed on life support if your body cannot survive without it.

    

5. Medical Power of Attorney (POA)

   Medical power of attorney (also known as a health care proxy) is a document that allows you to appoint a trusted person to make decisions about your medical care if you cannot make decisions yourself. In many states, the person you appoint is authorized to speak for you any time you are unable to make your own medical decisions, not only at the end of life.

   Having conversations with your family members and loved ones about the contents of your living will can make these decisions much easier and reduce stress on your family in the event that you are unable to make your own medical decisions.

   Be sure your appointed medical POA and healthcare team have copies of the signed directives.
   Note: The written form used to appoint the proxy is often called the “durable power of attorney for healthcare.” In many states this form is combined with the advance directive.