Friends terminally ill

Winefride, be supportive, put on a cheerful (ish) front, try to help if you can............be a friend?

And leave the opportunities open to talk about dying. It's hard, but harder if a person wants or needs to talk about it, to have the subject changed or brushed away with false cheerfulness. And be sure to kerp your own circle of friends to talk about it too and not bottle it up inside yourself.

That's right MiceElf. people do skirt around the subject of death as if it's something to be ashamed of almost.

Winefride such a sad and hard thing to deal with. And it always reminds us of our own mortality, doesn't it - something we hate to consider but know to be true. for you and your friend. We have two very sick friends and one who has only a few months to go.

What MiceElf and Ella say is so true. Give you friend opportunities to tell you how she feels. It's all too easy to be falsely cheerful and avoid the issue. A start would be seeing if she needs any help with practical issues and this might allow her to feel you are able to listen to her feelings too. It won't be easy though

I think too, it is important to remember their close relatives - husband, children, who will all be sad and frightened. As you all say, death is a fact of life, and having friends there when the going gets tough helps.