Great article in the Wall Street Journal on life and death and why most physicians forego "futile 'lifesaving' care:"
A Doctor on How Physicians Face the End of Life - WSJ.com:
"Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. It was diagnosed as pancreatic cancer by one of the best surgeons in the country, who had developed a procedure that could triple a patient's five-year-survival odds—from 5% to 15%—albeit with a poor quality of life. Charlie, 68 years old, was uninterested. He went home the next day, closed his practice and never set foot in a hospital again. He focused on spending time with his family. Several months later, he died at home. He got no chemotherapy, radiation or surgical treatment. Medicare didn't spend much on him. . . . . Unlike previous eras, when doctors simply did what they thought was best, our system is now based on what patients choose. . . . The result is that more people receive futile "lifesaving" care, and fewer people die at home than did, say, 60 years ago. Nursing professor Karen Kehl, in an article called "Moving Toward Peace: An Analysis of the Concept of a Good Death," ranked the attributes of a graceful death, among them: being comfortable and in control, having a sense of closure, making the most of relationships and having family involved in care. Hospitals today provide few of these qualities. Written directives can give patients far more control over how their lives end. But while most of us accept that taxes are inescapable, death is a much harder pill to swallow, which keeps the vast majority of Americans from making proper arrangements. It doesn't have to be that way. . . ." (Read the full article
here.)
If only we were more like physicians--not only would we die graceful deaths of peace--but our exploding medical care costs could be more wisely allocated for the young and the living.
For those interested in
dying with grace--one result from my Google search for "
health care directive."
