End of life care can support you when needed. It helps you to live as well as possible until you die and to die with dignity. It also includes support for your family or carers.

You can receive end of life care at home, in a care home, at a hospice, or at a hospital. It should begin when you need it and may last a few days, or for months or years. The following resources are available for you:

• NHS Choices has a guide to end of life care
• Marie Curie offers expert care, guidance and support to people living with any terminal illness and their families
• Dying Matters has a directory of services for people in the last years of life, their families, carers and friends
• Hospice UK is the national voice of hospice care in the UK
• Macmillan Cancer Support provide information, advice and support for people with cancer, as well as their families and carers

How to make your plan

You may have specific wishes about your future care or medical treatment. Your condition might mean that you will not always be able to make your own decisions, so it's a good idea to talk about what you want with your family, carer and doctor. This is called advance care planning.

Anyone can plan for their future care, whether they are approaching the end of life or not. Advance care planning can let people know your wishes and feelings while you're still able to. It does not have to be in writing unless you're making an advance decision to refuse treatment. However, you may find that writing your wishes down makes it easier for people to understand and stick to them. You can include things such as:

• where you would like to be looked after, such as at home, in hospital, in a hospice, or in a nursing home
• who you would like to look after you at the end of your life and where you would like to be
• your views on any particular treatments or types of care
• any religious or spiritual beliefs you would like to be taken into account

Help to get started

The Gold Standard Framework have created a 5-step video guide that will help you make an advance care plan.

Marie Curie have produced a guide to plan ahead and things you should think about, including talking about your wishes for how you are cared for in the final months of your life.

My Decisions is a free and simple website where you can create an Advance Decision document to print, sign, have witnessed and share.

If you have concerns about your ability to make decisions about your life you may want to consider setting up a Power of Attorney and making a will.