“I dislike the phrase, ‘They failed treatment.’ The amount of judgment within this phrase is damaging.”
“Once you come up with a few items that bring comfort and involve the senses, it becomes easier to construct an individualized plan to share with those who are near and dear to our hearts.”
“If we are trying to design a ‘good death’ we could well cause ourselves more suffering.” — Roshi Joan Halifax
“This committed couple who loved each other through life’s ups and downs were separated when Pat breathed her final breath.”
“The legal method I suggest most for a dignified and peaceful death is to stop all treatments, especially antibiotics.”
“One facility used the term “provider-hastened death” and stated that it encompasses euthanasia.”
“Whose wishes for his medical treatment were we to honor? Those of my father back when he was a healthy, highly functioning geneticist? Or those of the simpler, weakened man my father had become?”
“If these five reasons don’t make a strong enough case for physicians to engage with their patients in advance care planning, here’s one more: it is simply the right thing to do.”
“Is it quality of life? Is it living as long as you can? Is it being comfortable? Those are the kinds of things that I wish we had talked about.”
“I have the privilege to learn and hear interesting perspectives, along with all the questions and comments that our community members have, on the topics of death and dying. Here are a few insights I have gleaned from these discussions.”