Quote 7: (time:4:00-7:35) Typically, we ask is this going to be the event or disease that kills our loved one. I think it’s okay to ask the question, is this what we are going to allow to kill our loved one. Given the prognosis, what is the goal of the treatment?
Response:
When posed with this question, it would be difficult to answer without considering all possibilities. If my loved one could live with a quality life eventually or if treatment would prolong life until their “bucket list” might be completed, or if unresolved spiritual issues could be resolved, my decision would be to continue treatment! Having a goal of the treatment ahead certainly would be favorable for anyone facing a terminal illness. I can see how in some cases of cancer or other terminal diseases, a loved one may not want to have treatment due to the quality of life that
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Response: Unfortunately, the cost of medical expenses is not cheap. However, how can you put a price on someone’s life. To stop treatment because of finances would be a decision that would need to be carefully thought through from every direction. To grow old without regrets would always be the goal. Consequently, wiping out your family would not be the goal that any person would want to achieve. I believe that it is acceptable to stop treatment if you feel that is the right path for quality of life. Moreover, it would be devastating to a loved one to think that they were a part of the equation for ending someone’s life. These videos by Dr. Scott Rae have brought to my mind many of questions about death that I had not considered before. I will still continue to believe that God would give grace and show Himself mightily when His child effectually, fervently, calls for help. Word count:
In terms of the intensity and duration, the disease is life-long and is accompanied by increasing emotional and physical pain. Most of this pain is derived from slowly loosing major bodily functions like walking, speaking, eating, blinking, and even breathing (Canadian medical journal: http://www.cmaj.ca) The extent of those affected include himself and his family members who are most likely suffering emotionally as well. The degree of pain and the extent to which this pain affects others is greater than the pleasure that could be derived from allowing the disease to progress further in answering no to Rob’s request. Thus, under utilitarian principles, the doctor should uphold Rob’s request for physician-assisted death.
I agree with Huttmanns view of helping a patient who may have a terminal illness. When dealing with people in the medical field, a doctor has a good idea of what the survival rates are for a given disease. However, if a person has cancer, that is a long road ahead of them. My mom just told me the other day two of her coworkers, whom I have known for several years now, have or now has cancer. One of the coworkers, Tammy, is now in recovery after battling a terminal illness. The doctor told Tammy that in her condition, she would be able to recover from the cancer and live
My condition brought me into a situation, were i had no other option than getting marihuana for medical purposes, “- some people actually need to ask for the doctor to cure the symptom…when unfortunately the cancer doesn't go away-”. I was spending money on a variety of medicines, until my kidney failed. The moment when you realized medicines you take to save your life are also killing you at the same time, you are screwed…Cancer does not only kill you physically it kills you mentally too. After a chemo, you suffer a phycological downturn that doesn't allow you to spend time with your family. Cancer did not kill me yet, but it made me stop enjoying life.
Patients ask for this option opposed to living till the end is due to the beliefs of burden on family and fears about future loss of function associated with increases in disability (Radtke, 2005). These leads to patients making decision to die in early stage and face psychological issues. Decisions like such can lead to doctors not fully trying to save and heal a patient or family members losing hope and give up. Treatment could be possible but might take longer but seeing patients suffer the doctors might give up due to being prompted from precious cases even if they feel to refuse assisting suicide (Stevens,
Imagine for a second. In the midst of your 30’s enjoying what life has to offer. After all those years of being in school and putting in the hard work, a dream job was finally achieved. Along with that, a spouse and a loving family is also given. Life may be challenging but it brings many rewards. It seems like a rollercoaster that never stops going up, life couldn’t get any better. However, happily ever afters aren’t always as they seem. At a regular doctor checkup, horrifying news is told. A brain tumor has been growing for who knows how many months and terminal brain cancer is diagnosed. The doctors say that life will end abruptly in 2-4 years, the process is slow and extremely painful. What are the options? People who are
In the article “ Omg I'm dying” author Wood Jabari Wood startes, A person who knows he has no hope of living are in tremendous amount of pain and stress and are most likely to fail in recovering and should let them die. The simple statement that a terminaly illed person should be let go is absurd. What this writer don’t understand is that people who are in pain wants a cure and it motivates themselves to keep pushing forward. A person can be in a massice amount of pain but that does not tell whether a person should give up or keep fighting. Although pain can affect peoples’ mind, it can also be
We came to this decision because we felt that if a few professional psychiatrist can render him mentally competent than he should be allowed to make his own decisions because it is moral. This is moral because people should be allowed to do what they want with their body, and as Cowart says it is, “the right to control your own body is a right you’re born with…” (Cowart 2). However, this is refuted when that person cannot make rational decisions because that person would be mentally incompetent. People that are mentally incompetent are incapable of making decisions that are in their best interest. We also discussed his mother and how all she cared about is for him to receive treatment which we thought was a bit selfish. This is a typical parental perspective considering that parents do not want to outlive their children. However, she should have sought out what was best for him and what he was going to be happy with and not her. As a group we also felt that he should have received better pain treatment especially since Cowart found out later that they could have done more for his treatment. If someone is in as much pain as he was and when a doctor is confronted with the request to die, that doctor should be doing everything he or she can to bring down the pain.
The treatments, the side effects are to the point that are not worth fighting for any longer and are just exhausted. They would much rather be healthy again. The patient should be able to proceed with physician-assisted suicide.
B. It is important to take into consideration what the person desires. Although it may seem too extreme to end your life, we are not feeling what the ill person is feeling so we cannot judge their decisions.
The current health situation should be explained in a non-technical way so the patient (if possible) family, and or valid surrogate can understand every aspect. The physician should also help them understand when there is no hope for recovery. Most often the organs are no longer functioning, or there is little to no brain activity; at this point suffering potentially outweighs the probability of recovery. Medical teams most often realize that the focus should be on comfort, rather than extending a dying life. This decision comes with a great deal of uncertainty, and will always be hard, no matter what age of the patient, or the circumstances. Kathryn Kosh, MD explains that, “Ready access to advanced modern technology has changed death from an event to a process… Defying death requires payment [in the form of] pain and discomfort or in an unacceptable decline in the quality of life.” Often times physicians will not prescribe treatment in the first place knowing that this option will not benefit the patient, prolong suffering; and will likely end in termination anyway. Therefore, allowing the nature of the illness or injury to take its own course of action. Another point of interest regarding this topic is that medical teams realize in most cases, that providing an ethical and dignified death can be just as rewarding as administering aggressive measures to save a
Terminal illness is a broad label and covers a multitude of illnesses including but not limited to numerous cancers, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig Disease), Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, and the list goes on extensively. Terminal Illness as defined by the American Cancer Society as “an irreversible illness that in the near future will result in death or a state of permanent unconsciousness from which the person is unlikely to recover. Examples of terminal conditions include advanced cancers, multiple organ failures, or massive heart attacks and strokes. But in many states, a terminal illness is defined as one in which the patient will die “shortly” whether or not medical treatment is given.” ("Frequently asked questions," n.d.) Our Pathology textbook puts an actual time frame with it stating that according to the World Health Organization, terminally ill patients with cancer usually are not expected to live for longer than 90 days. (Goodman, Fuller, & O 'Shea, 2012, p. 189) Individuals who are actively suffering from a terminal illness can also acquire additional issues or illnesses as a result of the initial illness. It is not uncommon for patients who have or had breast cancer also to suffer from lymphedema or patients with
In the biomedical approach a terminal diagnosis is thought of as the end-of-life rather than the end of living (Wrubel, Acree, Goodman, & Falkman 2009). People who have terminal cancer benefit from continuing to live their lives as long as they are physically and mentally capable of doing so (Wrubel, et al., 2009). Edward and Carter take their bucket list and go on living life to the fullest. During the course of their travels the two men continue to explore their feelings and thoughts about life. They address three areas of concern that relate to their core values, relationship issues,
No two people face the same end of life scenarios. The needs of individuals are as varied as the ways people deal with their illness. What is the same is the importance of communication.
Have you ever been forced to watch someone that you love dearly fall victim to a terminal illness that diminishes their quality of life a bit more with each day that passes? The illness not only wreaks havoc on the person who is suffering from it, but it also destroys the life of the caregiver. As cruel as it may sound, sometimes the best option is the termination of the poor life that is withering away.
1) Patients have the right to make their own informed decisions about if and how they die. When a chronically ill patient decides life is no longer worth living because of the insurmountable pain they are in, who are we to tell them differently? There are cases where attempts to cure are doing more harm than good, not only mentally and physically to the patient, but emotionally to his family and loved ones as well.