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November 25, 2008
The Legacy Project
INSIDER TIP: Bring comfort and aid to a loved one with a life-threatening or terminal illness by participating in the Legacy Project.
 Facing death can be scary. And although death is a universal
human experience, it is quite difficult for anyone to come to terms with what it truly means for them. Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum, an oncology expert, along with his late wife Isadora Rosenbaum, began the Legacy Project in the 1970s to help his cancer patients through this process. The Legacy Project was created so that Rosenbaum’s patients could create a tangible and permanent life record of memories not only for themselves, but also for future generations.
The Legacy Project has five main components that all work in conjunction with each other to help a person bring about a sense of peace and clarity regarding their illness or situation. We have just added the Legacy Project to our Web site and with each section we give step-by-step directions for how to complete each of the five parts:
- Writing out an Ethical Will. Describing their life experience and how they feel about it along with wishes for the future helps participants to create closure and increase family communication.
- Creating a Family Tree. By placing one’s self in the context of a larger schema oftentimes a sense of legacy and one’s contribution to it is felt by participants.
- Putting Together a Personal Scrapbook. Bringing together all the pieces and mementos from one’s life in one place means it can be shared by others.
- Bringing Family Together for a Legacy Project Interview on DVD. By creating a videotaped interview of one person’s experience along with their family members also talking about their lives, participants often enhance family communication and can overcome their sense of existential dread.
- Creating your Legacy of Love. A Legacy of Love spells out clear decisions and planned social, legal, financial, and end-of-life arrangements to spare your survivors an inheritance of scattered papers and countless confusing details
And yes, it is some work to put together your own Legacy Project, but the end result for many is a sense of peace that they have not left any of the affairs—from paperwork to what needed to be said—left undone. With the holidays just around the corner, now is the perfect time to gather together family and friends and get your family’s history on tape.
Refresher:By taking action and creating a Legacy Project, participants can feel a sense of agency and volition over their lives when facing a terminal or life-threatening illness.
Extra Credit: Read more articles on Dealing with Grief & Guilt.
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One Great Man Can Change the World: Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum
Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum has left an indelible mark on this world. By bringing together hands-on and useful information for those battling cancer he has changed the face of what a cancer diagnosis means for many. His contributions to the world—through his work as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and the Cancer Supportive Care Web site—are nothing short of phenomenal. His legacy is one that has brought answers, solutions and his unerring sense of compassion to those dealing with cancer and its treatment. We’ve put him in our spotlight box, but knowing exactly how important and special his work has been to countless people we wish we knew a greater way to thank him. While our editors continue to highlight more of his work we are constantly reminded of a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." His will to create a multi-faceted support system for cancer patients, their families and health care providers has not only made him a great man, but has brought strength to those
that needed it most.
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Read more of Dr. Rosenbaum’s contributions to helping someone recover in the home in his Supportive Care column that covers pain medication management, aids and tips for making everyday activities easier, bed positioning, exercises for the bed-bound, dealing with emergencies and skin care treatments and much more...
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