This happens in many families. A father, a grandmother, most often, rarely a child, is at the end of life. We want him or her to fight, we refuse the obvious, we want everything to go as well as possible. The links are played out through care, speech, the senses and food. “How to feed a person at the end of life? is the question asked this Thursday evening in Thionville, during a public meeting*. A doctor, Dr. Élise Piot, and a psychologist, Rachel Isidore, both in the care department of Legouest hospital, will shed light on the expectations of the public. The link will be made by Dr Jean-François Villard, head of the regional palliative care service of the CHR Metz-Thionville, vice-president of the Pierre-Clément Lorraine association, organizer of the evening.
What to do with a patient in palliative care who is no longer hungry?
Dr Jean-François VILLARD “Often, it starts with a statement by the patient: ‘I’m tired, I’m no longer hungry, I’m losing weight, I don’t know what to do’. You have to understand: cancer is an appetite suppressant. Chemotherapy restores the quality and quantity of life. »
When you enter this service, there is a phase of mourning, of depression. Enough to cut the hunger, too.
“We have to give these people life projects, give meaning to this life that is ending. When we talk about projects, we think of the Bahamas. No. It can be right to say to yourself: “Tomorrow morning, I get up”. And one of the few remaining pleasures is food. »
Do you allow contraindicated foods?
“We will pay attention to food. But at some point, the important thing is to have fun. Whether we have a little more diabetes or not, we don’t care. Then there are the expectations of the patients, those of the families. This can create tension. Food is symbolic, but asking someone to eat to please has no effect. »
This raises the question of the end of life. Should we force feed?
“Should we provide artificial nutrition? Our job is to make it understood that at the end of life, the quantity will not change anything, the infusions will not change anything. Since the Claeys-Leonetti law, oral feeding is respect for the patient, artificial feeding is treatment. We cannot impose it. »
Who decides for patients with cognitive disorders?
“The laws have provided for a collegial decision. It includes caregivers, an external doctor, and the opinion that the patient would have had if he had been able to express it. Hence the importance of appointing a trusted person or signing an advance directive, which is then necessary. »
*Information evening, Espace de Veymerange, Thionville at 8:30 p.m.
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