I’ve received an end of life diagnosis
If you need end-of-life care, this website has been created to support you, your friends and family.
Welcome to Precious Time
This website has been created to support you as you respond to a life-limiting illness, and as you approach the end of your life.
When you receive bad news about your health, there are a lot of things to consider. There’s no hiding the fact you’ve received terrible news, and right now you’re going through all sorts of emotions and asking all sorts of questions.
Precious Time can help you find the answers. It contains information to assist you to prepare for important conversations, and to consider matters relating to your quality of life. It can help you clarify thoughts about planning next steps and put you in touch with a range of organisations and individuals who provide services you may need.
An end-of-life diagnosis affects every aspect of your world, and as your illness progresses your needs and choices will change. You’ll need to talk about all sorts of matters – your progress, relationships, plans and beliefs – with those who are close to you, and those whose professional role is to organise things on your behalf.
But where do you start? Precious Time offers advice and ways to start important conversations on all these topics and more, in simple, easy-to-understand terms. See here for more details.
Perhaps you want to sort out some finances, or make a will, or make sure you receive the treatments you want – and not the ones you don’t. This website can help you make those decisions and tell the people who need to know. Get started by selecting the “Hubs” menu and clicking on Plan for the future or Manage your money.
Exercise and spending time with friends are important ways of keeping active, and connected. You’ll find some useful starters for these also on the “Hubs” menu, under Meet new people and Be more active.
Selecting the “Questions" menu will help you explore many topics that may be pertinent to you, such as where to find help in non-English languages, how to link in with particular communities, and what to expect from palliative care.
But all this is just the start. There are literally hundreds of organisations and individuals listed inside Precious Time. All of them in one way or another are involved in providing care and support. To explore, go to the search field on the home page and type into the “What are you looking for?” box.
All the listings include descriptions, maps, contacts and other essential information, so you can decide easily if you want to get in touch.
Perhaps you’d like to know how other people think and feel about their last chapters? The "Blog" menu will take you to a curated selection of thought-provoking stories from around the globe.
Welcome to Precious Time. We’re sorry that you’ve had to come here, but we hope that we can help.
Read our latest blog posts
It is a privilege to be present when someone dies
"If witnessing someone coming into the world is a privilege then it's surely not a great stretch to feel the same way about being there when someone leaves the world at the other end of their lives," writes UK broadcaster and columnist for The Guardian, in this short reflection on the death of his father.
Voluntary assisted dying: what is it, and what is it not?
Many people with painful terminal illnesses consider making the ultimate choice and ending life under Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying law. But in this exclusive story for Precious Time journalist Nicole Chvastek discovered that the process is by no means easy – or available to all who want it.
The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be less distinct than previously thought.