Publisher's Synopsis
Approximately two-thirds of deaths in the United States involve a doctor's partnership with an individual, whether it be for the administration of very high doses of pain relief or sedation, or for the act of discontinuing - or not beginning - life sustaining treatment. This work explores that partnership and the complex end of life issues that surround physician-assisted death. Here are the stories of nine individuals and their very different endings, common only in each person's struggle to confront issues of law and ethics and to realize a "good" death.;Each story illustrates different aspects of the myriad dilemmmas commonly faced by dying patients, their families and physicians. Each involves a series of painful decisions that should help the reader understand how an individual's specific medical condition and unique history - personal values, and concepts of self, spirit and community - blend to suggest clinical choices that might otherwise seem difficult to understand.;At the end of each narrative, the author explores the themes illustrated, highlighting the salient questions for physicians, and exposing readers to a coherent way of thinking about issues such as hospice care, withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy, terminal sedation and physician-assisted death. This text demonstrates the tension inherent between the fight for life and the mandate to relieve suffering.
