Literature Review

The good deaths of people who never marry: Lifelong single people are most likely to die pain-free and at peace. Psychology Today; by Bella DePaulo, PhD; 3/8/26 People who are single and want to stay that way are often taunted with scare stories about what will happen to them toward the end of their life—they will grow old alone, they will die alone, and all the rest. Same for people who have no children. But is the quality of the end of their lives really worse for those who never marry (or never have kids) than it is for those who are married, remarried, divorced, or widowed (or who have grown children)? We now have an answer, and it is not at all what those dire warnings predicted.Editor's Note: This Psychology Today article provides an additional focus on "people who never marry" from the article we posted on 3/20/26, “We make our own families”: Do child-free people die alone? Hospice worker shares her experience. Important: "child-free" does not necessarily mean the person never married. Likewise, "never married" does not necessarily mean the person is "child-free."

Akron-area teen remembered for facing cancer with grace, laughter Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH; by Ralph N. Paulk and Marilyn Miller Paulk; 3/18/26 Darren Hampton smiled and laughed almost incessantly. ... His family reminisced how he fought an agonizing battle with grace and a seemingly habitual smile long after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 at age 7. ... Darren wasn’t afraid to die,” Hampton said. “He understood what was going on.” ... Then, shortly after arriving at the hospice center, he asked Abood, “Are you telling me I don’t have to go to school?” Yet, he expressed a willingness to take his state tests. “He was always concerned about his schoolwork,” ... "(Darren) was full of energy and always positive. He wanted to step in and change the world. He talked about recycling in rivers and lakes.” ... On the day he died, Darren summoned his family.  ... 

Drew Brees visit delights Saints fan living final days in hospice care in Southern California Fox 8, New Orleans; by Ken Daley; 3/14/26 Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees this week paid a surprise visit to a devoted Saints fan living out his final days at a hospice care facility in Southern California. According to social media posts from the Southern California Hospice Foundation, a 48-year-old man identified as Eddie likely has 1-2 weeks to live after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and undergoing four surgeries in the past month that were unable to improve his prognosis. The initial post last Tuesday said Eddie had been transferred to the Heavenly Home hospice in Mission Viejo, an Orange County community between Los Angeles and San Diego. It said Eddie was originally from New Orleans, has always been a devoted fan of the Saints, and especially admired Brees. The post said one of his final wishes was simply to meet an NFL player.

Mom of Frosty-loving daughter on hospice shouts out Wendy’s staff for ‘lovely gesture’ NBC Today Show; by Heather Marin, RD; 3/13/26 ... [Mary Adams] wanted to give a shoutout to a Wendy’s drive-thru employee in Palm Desert, California, who made her feel seen on a weekly Frosty run that’s deeply bittersweet. ... Purdie’s sister, Gretchen, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2023 [... and chose hospice care in January 2025]. Her appetite is limited these days. “Every week,” Purdie explains. “Someone from our family, usually my mom, goes to Wendy’s and gets six chocolate Frostys.” ... When Adams arrived at her local Wendy’s to pick up the weekly supply recently, a staff member recognized her. “Hey, you’re late!” said the team member, handing over the drink tray, “No spoons, right?” “Many days, there are very few reasons to smile while being a caregiver for her terminally ill daughter, but that interaction was a bright spot,” says Purdie. The whole family was touched that someone noticed the routine that is for them both life-sustaining and painful.

Harbors Home Health and Hospice expands community education The Daily World; by Jerry Knaak; 3/6/26 Harbors Home Health and Hospice was selected as the recipient of more than $19,000 in donations at the March 2025 100+ Harbor Women Who Care giving event. The funds were awarded after Harbors was nominated alongside two other local nonprofits and chosen by the attendees for the organization’s commitment to caring for patients and families throughout the community. Rather than using the funds internally, Harbors leadership saw the award as an opportunity to give back through community education focused on aging and end-of-life planning.

Huey Perry: Between celebration and goodbye The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV; by Huey Perry; 3/6/26 There are moments in life that do not fit neatly into human emotion. They do not allow us the comfort of a single response. They stretch the heart in opposite directions at once. I recently experienced such a moment over something as ordinary as lunch. Three friends met to share a meal. Two of them had suffered lung cancer. On this particular day, the news arrived like a divided verdict from some invisible court. One firend had been declared cancer-free. The other had been referred to hospice care. Across the table sat life and death, side by side. ... How does one act in such a moment? I found myself suspended between two emotional poles. ... [Full access may be limited behind a paywall]

Irish man completes 30,000km charity cycle to Australia RTE | 100; by Cara McHugh and Sinéad Hussey; 2/7/26 A Roscommon man has finished a cycling challenge which began almost two years ago and saw him travel over 30,000km across three continents to Australia. Fergal Guihen, from Arigna, arrived in Sydney earlier today marking the completion of a mammoth challenge of endurance which began in March 2024. The 27-year-old set out on the arduous 'Rossie to Aussie' challenge with the goal of raising awareness and funds for both the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and NorthWest STOP suicide prevention services. He has raised almost €170,000 to date. 

Navigating end-of-life decisions with Islamic ethics WisconsinMuslimJournal.org; by Sandra Whitehead; 2/20/26 Medical College of Wisconsin Professor Aasim I. Padela, M.D., founder and president of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, discussed Islamic bioethics during a January workshop on end-of-life decisions at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. ... About 50 people attended the four-hour workshop, Islamic Bioethics & End-of-Life Healthcare Decisions, held Jan. 31 at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. It featured experts with backgrounds in medicine, palliative care, hospice and Islam. Speakers made presentations and led discussions about practical steps, resources and strategies to help Muslims “transition from a state of uncertainty about end-of-life healthcare to thoughtful preparation for it,” a workbook given to participants stated.

How family caregivers are shaping their own future AARP; by Paul Wynn; 2/18/26 Applying hard-learned lessons from caring for others, nearly half of caregivers are planning their own legal, financial and medical futures. Helen Bundy Medsger spent three decades caring for multiple family members, including her parents and sister, an experience that shaped both her advocacy and her determination to plan ahead so her two children don’t inherit the challenges she faced as a caregiver. ... 

Doing everything FOR the patient, not TO the patient HIStalk - Healthcare IT News & Opinion; by Nassib Charmoun; 2/23/26 “Do as much as possible for the patient and as little as possible to the patient.” That single sentence, written by Bernard Lown, MD in “The Lost Art of Healing,” should serve as a universal guide to thinking about medicine, caregiving, and what it truly means to heal. Dr. Lown was my mentor beginning in my early 20s and remained a close friend until his death in 2021 at age 99, He was decades ahead of his time. He believed that medicine should integrate scientific rigor with moral imagination, and that clinical excellence without compassion is incomplete care. ... Increasingly, the evidence suggests that quality of life, not simply quantity of life, must be the defining outcome.

Bridge Hospice Pet Adoption Program KCBD-11, Lubbock, TX; by Julie Castaneda; 2/17/26 Bridge Hospice has started a Pet Adoption Program to help hospice patients, who often need loving homes for their well-loved pets during their end-of-life care.

Prison teaches Rock Island man how to care for others wn.com, The Daily Nonpariel; by Tom Loewy; 2/15/26 Finis Leonard has helped 13 men die. That's not why the 48-year-old Rock Island native has been in Illinois prisons since 2007. Handed concurrent sentences of 30 years for being an armed habitual criminal and 10 years for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Leonard made a decision in 2016 that he says changed his life. He decided to study palliative care and started a hospice care program at Danville Correctional Center. Leonard said working with dying men and helping others learn palliative care has made him a better person. He has petitioned Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal for early release from his prison sentence, which is expected to last another six years. [Full article is behind a paywall.]

'My wedding dress funded care for dying children' BBC News, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom; by Grace Wood; 2/14/26 As any bride-to-be knows, wedding dresses can come at a terrifying cost, with the average price sitting at around £1,500. But at one specialist charity shop in West Yorkshire brides can not only pick up a dress at a fraction of the cost, but also give something back. Situated on the top floor of the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice store in Huddersfield, Holmfirth Bridal Suite is not your normal charity shop. Instead of the usual array of second-hand clothes the rails are lined with hundreds of pre-loved or donated wedding dresses. ... "Your average wedding dress is thousands of [dollars] and you wear it for one day, and then it goes in a box, and thankfully people are donating them here to be able to sell on and make more money for the hospice" ...