If you have signed a standard living will, you may think that you do not need the values history questionnaire. Advance directives, such as living wills, are legally endorsed documents and the values history questionnaire is not. However, despite the precise legal language, living wills are often difficult to interpret. Conventional living wills include words such as "terminal," "extraordinary," and "heroic" that mean different things to different people at different stages of disease. Thus, your answers to the values history questionnaire can be useful to your proxy, who needs to understand what you mean in your advance directive, taking into account your stage of disease and overall condition. You are often best advised to complete a values history and a legally endorsed advance directive.

Making Sure Your Wishes Are Respected and Followed

First and foremost, tell your family and doctor what is important to you and write it down. From a legal perspective, it is better to write down what you want than to trust that everyone will remember what you said. A written statement gives your choices clarity, visibility, and validity. Be as precise as you can, both about what treatments you want and about what you hold dear, so that everyone will remember what you said.

Remember, too, that you can always change your mind. Your choices may change with your experiences. For example, people often choose aggressive care at the start of an illness, but then change their minds when the disease is not responding to treatment. It makes sense that your choices about your care might change as your condition changes. Preparing advance directives and talking about how you and your family plan to cope with serious illness and death can help to make the end of life a time of comfort and dignity - not a time of hurried choices.