Accepting death is difficult for patients and doctors, but it needs to be done

My 64-year-old patient with terminal cancer and less than six months to live wanted to go to Oregon. He was contemplating assisted suicide, which is legal there. “My life has been long and good,” he said. “I believe it is my right. I want the ability to say it’s too much, I can’t do it anymore. A person should have a dignified quality of life.”

Another one of my patients, an 84-year-old woman from a nursing home, had heart failure, lung failure and kidney failure. She lay in her bed on a ventilator and on a dialysis machine with little hope for survival.“We want everything done,” her daughter insisted. “It’s in God's hands, and God can do miracles.” For weeks we continued aggressive and ultimately futile efforts to keep her alive.   Read Here