SUNBURY – A documentary on dealing with terminal illness will be presented at free screenings this fall. “Being Mortal,” follows Dr. Atul Gawande as he searches for answers about how best to care for the dying.
Cindy Moyer of Caring Choices talked about the film, “PBS’s Frontline did a documentary following him around to some visits with patients and their families in the hospital and then talking with other physicians in other hospitals about how to have conversations with your doctor or with family and loved ones.”
Moyer says the program is not just about death, but really represents the meaning of health care choices, “You know we focus on end-of-life, but you can have a tragedy befall you at any time. So, it’s really talking about health care choices, if and when something happens to you.”
Moyer believes the real reason why people don’t like to talk about death is fear, “I think there’s a great fear component with death, because we don’t know what’s going to happen to us. We don’t want to think of leaving our loved ones or losing our loved ones. It’s difficult to say goodbye to your son moving across the country let alone comtemplating a death, but I think as we have more conversations it will become easier to talk more openly about these things that are really important.”
Two screenings of “Being Mortal” will take place on September 7 at the Campus Theatre and October 20 in Isaacs Auditorium at Susquehanna University. Both events will run from 6 to 8 p.m and are free to the public. After the screening, audience members can participate in a guided conversation on how to take concrete steps to identify and communicate wishes about end-of-life goals and preferences. Cindy Moyer was a recent guest on WKOK Sunrise. You can listen to more from her interview on wkok.com. (Alex Reichenbach)
