In my opinion, as the spouse of a doctor, this is an interesting case of experts having views about their field that are widely divergent from those of the general public. Tech professionals have...
In my opinion, as the spouse of a doctor, this is an interesting case of experts having views about their field that are widely divergent from those of the general public. Tech professionals have bizarre computer setups; mechanics are infamous for driving rustbuckets on the verge of breakdown; and doctors are extremely selective about the care they accept for themselves.
Of course, the stakes are much higher in medicine as opposed to tech or auto repair or whatever other example you might care to name—literally life or death—and so it captures the imagination more strongly, but it seems to me to be the same general principle.
This philosophy isn't exclusive to just medical professionals. I know a few people who live by the motto that they'd rather die in their sixties than spend the last few years of their life a...
Almost all medical professionals have seen too much of what we call “futile care” being performed on people. That’s when doctors bring the cutting edge of technology to bear on a grievously ill person near the end of life. The patient will get cut open, perforated with tubes, hooked up to machines, and assaulted with drugs. All of this occurs in the Intensive Care Unit at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars a day. What it buys is misery we would not inflict on a terrorist. I cannot count the number of times fellow physicians have told me, in words that vary only slightly, “Promise me if you find me like this that you’ll kill me.” They mean it. Some medical personnel wear medallions stamped “NO CODE” to tell physicians not to perform CPR on them. I have even seen it as a tattoo.
This philosophy isn't exclusive to just medical professionals. I know a few people who live by the motto that they'd rather die in their sixties than spend the last few years of their life a senile vegetable being kept alive by tubes and machines.
Count me in on that motto. A family friend died of cancer at a fairly young age a few years ago. He didn't want chemo, he wanted to live the last few months of his life as best as he could, biking...
Count me in on that motto.
A family friend died of cancer at a fairly young age a few years ago. He didn't want chemo, he wanted to live the last few months of his life as best as he could, biking around and saying goodbyes. Instead he did chemo at the insistence of his parents, and ended up spending his last few months of life bedridden, unable to eat, and miserable.
The saddest part of visiting him wasn't that he was close to death, but that he was dealing with a horribly more painful death to appease his parents.
I want to be euthanized if that ever happens to me. I want to be able to say my proper goodbyes, then get stoned out of my mind, injected with the lethal dose, and drift away while embracing my wife and kid for the last time. Preferably with Pink Floyd playing in the background.
@jonluca, having just skimmed through the article, I don't think this topic is particularly relevant to ~humanities, which covers anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, philosophy, etc....
@jonluca, having just skimmed through the article, I don't think this topic is particularly relevant to ~humanities, which covers anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, philosophy, etc. So which group would you prefer I move this to? IMO ~life, ~health, or even ~science (with medicine tag) would be more appropriate.
Regardless of whether you decide you want heroic end of life care or not, I'd urge anyone to take steps to be a participant in your care rather than a passive object for care. Even if you're young...
Regardless of whether you decide you want heroic end of life care or not, I'd urge anyone to take steps to be a participant in your care rather than a passive object for care. Even if you're young and healthy, it's worth discussing your wishes with those around you and having an advance medical directive & durable power of attorney in place with someone who knows what you want. If you're getting older or sicker, and hospitalization looks imminent, having someone lined up as your patient advocate can be a (literal) lifesaver.
In my opinion, as the spouse of a doctor, this is an interesting case of experts having views about their field that are widely divergent from those of the general public. Tech professionals have bizarre computer setups; mechanics are infamous for driving rustbuckets on the verge of breakdown; and doctors are extremely selective about the care they accept for themselves.
Of course, the stakes are much higher in medicine as opposed to tech or auto repair or whatever other example you might care to name—literally life or death—and so it captures the imagination more strongly, but it seems to me to be the same general principle.
This philosophy isn't exclusive to just medical professionals. I know a few people who live by the motto that they'd rather die in their sixties than spend the last few years of their life a senile vegetable being kept alive by tubes and machines.
Count me in on that motto.
A family friend died of cancer at a fairly young age a few years ago. He didn't want chemo, he wanted to live the last few months of his life as best as he could, biking around and saying goodbyes. Instead he did chemo at the insistence of his parents, and ended up spending his last few months of life bedridden, unable to eat, and miserable.
The saddest part of visiting him wasn't that he was close to death, but that he was dealing with a horribly more painful death to appease his parents.
I want to be euthanized if that ever happens to me. I want to be able to say my proper goodbyes, then get stoned out of my mind, injected with the lethal dose, and drift away while embracing my wife and kid for the last time. Preferably with Pink Floyd playing in the background.
You might also be interested in Scott Alexander's post on this subject. (It links to this article, which is how I first read it.)
Yup, that's where I found this link as well actually!
@jonluca, having just skimmed through the article, I don't think this topic is particularly relevant to ~humanities, which covers anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, philosophy, etc. So which group would you prefer I move this to? IMO ~life, ~health, or even ~science (with medicine tag) would be more appropriate.
Probably ~life? I think I'm looking for more of a philosophical discussion about our choices around death.
Fair enough, I will leave it here and just tag it with philosophy instead. :)
Regardless of whether you decide you want heroic end of life care or not, I'd urge anyone to take steps to be a participant in your care rather than a passive object for care. Even if you're young and healthy, it's worth discussing your wishes with those around you and having an advance medical directive & durable power of attorney in place with someone who knows what you want. If you're getting older or sicker, and hospitalization looks imminent, having someone lined up as your patient advocate can be a (literal) lifesaver.