What does it mean to have a good death?
It's something many of us would prefer not to think about, yet it's the one thing we're all guaranteed to experience.
Faye Tomlin and Emma Graham are palliative care nurses in central Queensland who are on a mission to take the fear out of dying and encourage more people to talk about it.
"I know that might sound a little bit unusual, but this is the very best work I've ever done," Ms Tomlin said.
There's probably no-one more vulnerable than someone whose life is about to end.
But the worry Ms Tomlin sees most in her patients is less about dying itself and more about their regrets in life.
"If you're headed towards death and you don't feel your peace, then that is something to fear," Ms Tomlin said.
Helping on final journey the 'greatest privilege'
Also known as end-of-life care, palliative care nurses become involved with patients as early as their diagnosis, as well as throughout their treatment, and stay with them until they draw their last breath.
Ms Tomlin and Ms Graham work in nursing facilities, hospitals and occasionally private homes, because in Rockhampton there is no dedicated hospice, something a community group is actively campaigning to change.
Ms Tomlin has been a palliative care nurse for a decade in a nursing career that's spanned over a quarter of a century.
She's taken hundreds of people on their final journey and to her it's the "greatest privilege".
Both women say they never planned to work in palliative care, but felt drawn to this work.
They know what they do isn't always fully understood by those who haven't experienced it.
Ms Graham admits even she had "a bit of a misconception" about palliative care before transitioning from general nursing three years ago.
"Something else that always continues to surprise me about meeting people that are at risk of dying, or close to dying, is the complexities of the way people have lived and how they continue to live and, and what we accept as humans," she said.
Ultimately, Ms Tomlin and Ms Graham see their job as helping people live well for as long as possible.
"I never struggle with this work, because I never come with judgement," Ms Tomlin said.
"I simply accept others for who they are and I try my very best to allow them to see their best self."
Let's talk about death
Part of what Ms Tomlin and Ms Graham do is discuss care options, including medical interventions, with patients so they're fully informed.
"Our role … is to make sure the person is empowered to make their own choice and to also ensure that whatever choice is made, that door to palliative care is never closed," Ms Tomlin said.
But Ms Tomlin said sometimes they come into the picture too late.
"The difficulty with palliative care continuing to be seen as that last option, when everything else fails … is that the person never gets to feel what it's like to have support throughout the journey," she said.
Ms Graham is urging people to discuss with their loved ones as early as possible what they want in the case of an emergency, and to draw up a will or consider health directives and an enduring power of attorney.
"For me, as a person in a very busy part of my life, working and having a young family … any loss of independence and ability to make my own decisions would be very unacceptable and I think my husband knows that," she said.
"Even if you haven't had the opportunity to do some formalised planning, I think that conversation is definitely vital to start that process."
Ms Tomlin hopes palliative care will soon be embraced more by society, rather than feared.
"Let's start insisting on palliative care as part of our health journey," she said.
