What is loss, grief and bereavement?

Loss is a universal part of experiencing a life-limiting illness, as patients and their families and carers adapt to the many changes in their lives. Just as a patient must face inevitable changes and loss, so too can family and carers—their loss may include that of parent, partner, confidante or best friend. These close relationships involve strong bonds of affection, and the loss or threatened loss of these generates grief and mourning.

Bereavement refers to the state of loss due to death, while grief refers to the feelings or reactions experienced in response to loss, and mourning is the process of adaptation to loss. Anticipatory grief describes the feelings or reactions experienced in response to threatened loss and awareness of impending death; it may begin when a life-limiting illness is diagnosed.