The more we think about our end-of-life scenarios now, the better chance we have of making a good decision once we're in that situation. Are you willing to suffer for a week for a 5% chance at living 2 years longer? Are you willing to suffer for a month for a 1% chance at living 10 years longer? What is your break even point? What are the things that you want to live for? Would you rather spend 1 more week comfortably with your family, or fight to the bitter end hoping for a miracle? These are hard questions.
I believe that in an advanced society, we would not find it so hard to let go of the dying. It's a certain shortfall of who we are. Whether this is because of religion or an evolutionary need to preserve our own, our tendencies are misguided and we should work on this. Figure it out for yourself. Talk to your family. Make a small step toward improving your end-of-life scenarios.
We are dealing with this right now with my dog. Granted not the same a human life, but since I got her when I was 12, she really is my baby, she has cancer and rather than put her on expensive chemo drugs that will make her sick but prolong her life. My brother and I decided to opt for pain medicine on the basis that: she's an old dog and we know that she won't ever beat the cancer and the fact that we would much rather have one great last summer with her pain free than another year with a lethargic sick dog. So far there are been a couple of heart breaking moments. However, I believe we have made the best choice.
ReplyDeleteI think the conversation is very similar. We've lost a couple of pets in the last 5 years and both were very hard and traumatic. I think you hope for the same thing in both situations: That you provide the right amount of medical intervention to increase the chance of extended life while at the same time maximizing the quality of any life left.
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