But along with the myriad benefits of modern health care there also came a downside, said chief executive of Palliative Care Tasmania Colleen Johnstone.

In today's society, we don't know how to talk about death.

"Things have gone from being inside the home to more clinical environments, and I think because of that we're not used to death any more," she said.

"In the old days we would have been caring for our loved ones as they were dying at home, and we don't do that as much.

"I think as a community, we need to have an understanding that death is normal.

"We're all going to die."

IN OTHER NEWS:

That was one of the messages of the Dying to Talk Expo at Albert Hall on Sunday.

The expo brought service providers and other experts together in one room, to help people make decisions about the end of their lives - including advice on getting your affairs in order for after you're gone.

Ms Johnstone said that our nervousness around discussing death is holding us back from making good decisions.

"You need to know that you can have control when you're dying - over what medical care you receive, control over your place of death, control over the type of spiritual or faith-based things that are important to you," she said.

"And you can write them all down, and if you lose capacity while you're dying and you've written everything down then your wishes will be followed."