Stop Treatment That Is Futile By Kevin T. Keith: Article Analysis

Instead of turning to death as an option, patients should realize that there are other ways to

It was not intended to make readers sad or necessarily agree with his decision, however, to examine their own life and situation and to contemplate death, as it is inevitable for everyone. Most people are bound to have to face a similar choice as Clendinen. Maybe not in the same extreme measure, but most people will have to make a decision for a family member who is no longer capable of making medical decisions for themselves. Clendinen achieved his purpose and readers should walk away from this article recognizing exactly what Clendinen’s beliefs are on death, and it ought to make them curious about their own thoughts and beliefs. At the very least, talk with their loved one’s before they ever become ill and find out their loved one’s wishes. Most people are skilled on how to live their life, but how many are taught to embrace the

In the story of “Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Father's Death” by Susan Wolf, she talks about the difficulties of her dad fighting cancer, and his final days. “Her father had always said that he would want everything, even in a persistent vegetative state (Wolf, 2008). However, his body reaches the point and the daily fight, pain and the struggle he was enduring just to stay alive was more painful and draining than it was really worth. He always told his daughter to fight until the very end and do what was necessary to do so. However, there is only so much pain your body can endure and even though he has always said to fight until the end. Effort They have reached the end of their road and should not have to suffer any longer if they so choose. After all the pain, they have been through and knowing that they are closer to death with each passing day, it should be their choice to end their suffering sooner and pass on peacefully without the suffering. In addition, let them quality of life the person to slip peacefully into the next life without pain and suffering.

If a patient can come to a decision when it is time to stop treatment for their terminal illness, then they should also be allowed to choose when to bring death. End of life care has become just as important of an issue to physicians as well as the patients. If physician-assisted deaths were permitted in all 50 states, physicians could openly discuss end of life wishes with their patients. The term “Terminally ill”, Is a terminal condition that is a disease or process that will result eventually in a patient's death, no matter what treatment is given. Of course, this could

Forcing terminally ill patients to suffer straight up to their last days is unacceptable and provisions can be made in order to allow competent patients to have a choice at the end of their lives.

A patients suffering cant be relieved all the time despite flawless palliative care, continuing to live causes misery that can only end with death.

Death is not a topic that many people are comfortable with, some people believe it is outrageous for others to play God and decide when to end their lives. While this is true for people with normal pains, there are those who feel they have the right to choose their own fate because they cannot bear their pain and suffering anymore. These are people that are terminally ill, people who were diagnosed with a deadly disease without a cure and feel that death is the only way to relieve that pain. These people has gone through many treatments that are slowly becoming less and less effective. Even though the treatment isn’t working, the patients still have to live through the pain from the treatments. Terminally ill

In the article “Doctors Should Stop Treatment That Is Futile,” Kevin T. Keith argues that doctors should stop giving useless treatments to patients that won’t get any better. His audience is the healthcare network and the families of patients and he uses a serious tone to get their attention. Kevins purpose is to persuade doctors into stopping ineffective treatments. He uses ethos, pathos, and logos so support his claim.

When a patient finally comes to the conclusion that they would like to bring their lives to an end, they are to end or opt out of enduring physical and emotional torture. I believe that if he or she first has been diagnosed by multiple separate sources with no room for error regarding the severity and mortality of their disease, other individuals should not have the authority to deny this option of relief. This practice, over the past ten years, has consistently accounted for “approximately one out of every thousand deaths per year” which may appear insignificant, but “one in fifty patients talk to their doctor about it, and one in six talk with family members” (“Existing ‘Last Resorts’”, 1). Most of these candidates will find great solace

Public discussion of the treatment of dying patients often confuses two separate issues. First is the right of a terminally ill person to be allowed to die without being subjected to invasive medical procedures. Second is the

Family is playing an important part in helping to ensure that patients are fit and following the advice of health care professionals. This is because the family is a foundation of support for everyone. At the same time, members can learn about what is impacting their loved one and what kind of procedures need to be followed. When this happens, there will be higher amounts of compliance as they will ensure that the patient continues to stick with their treatment protocol. (Saleeba, 2009)

Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their

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.

It is argued that patients requesting help with hastening death come mostly from those who have not been treated or diagnosed properly (Asch). “There is a growing awareness that loss of dignity and of those attributes that we associate particularly with being human are the factors that most commonly reduce patients to a state of unrelieved misery and desperation,” (Rogatz). It would be to the doctor’s discretion and expertise to diagnose and treat the patient to the best of their ability, and the patient could seek assistance from another doctor if looking for more

Today we are face with death in a different setting then our ancestors, instead of dying at a younger age and dying in our home with our families, people are now dying at a hospital or in a medical setting. We are living longer because of the advances in medicine, this is causing us to develop diseases that our ancestors never had to face. Our ancestors did not live long enough to develop some of the diseases we face today. As Jones (2011) provides, “we don’t just die of different diseases then our ancestors, we also die in different circumstances” (p. 302). The changes in circumstances have caused us to reevaluate what is believed to be ethical when faced with dying. There are many medical options a terminal ill or elderly patient that is dying can choose from, however there is great debate whether some of these options are ethical.